Collins' Overland Telegraph National Historic Event
Quesnel, British Columbia
Image of plaque
(© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada, 1989)
Address :
corner of Carson Ave. and Front Street, Quesnel, British Columbia
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1929-05-17
Other Name(s):
-
Collins' Overland Telegraph
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Intended to link Europe and America via Russia, abandoned in 1867
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: City Park corner of Carson Avenue and Front Street, Quesnel, British Columbia
Promoted by Perry Collins, the U.S. Commercial Agent in Russia, and dependent on the Western Union Telegraph Company's money, men and technology for its execution, this early telegraph line roused the enthusiasm of the white resident of British Columbia. At no expense to them the colony was to be a vital link in a line joining Europe and America via Russia. In 1867, after completion of the more economical Trans-Atlantic cable, construction ceased at Fort Stager at the confluence of the Kispyap and Skeena rivers. The section from New Westminster to the Cariboo was bought by the Canadian Government in 1880.