Knoxville: a colourful history

I’ve had quite a few questions about my coloured archival photographs of Knoxville and did a little research into the origins and location of the settlement.

In the summer of 1907, John Houston arrived in Prince Rupert with the intention of starting a newspaper in Prince Rupert. The Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) Harbour Engineer, James H. Bacon, refused Houston entry and sent him back on the ship he arrived on. Undeterred, Houston published the first issues of the Prince Rupert Empire from Victoria.

In the fall, Houston returned to Prince Rupert and prepared to set up the press, when Bacon impounded the press and locked it in a warehouse. Houston then approached Special Police Constable Lionel Crippen and he released the equipment.

Wanting to smooth things over, Charles Hays offered Houston any lot in town for the Empire office. Houston did not want to abide by the GTP permit system, and instead, staked out mineral claims with prospector John Knox on the land west of the wharf - right in the heart of the town. This area became known as Knoxville. Houston permitted anyone who wanted to live on the claim. The boardwalk, running parallel to the waterfront, was named Rupert Road.

The colourized photograph below shows a view of Rupert Road facing west, with the Exchange Grill and Bakery on the left, and Houston’s Empire office on the right.

I overlaid my colourized photo on the current location in Google Street View using a history mapping application (Historypin). This is my best guess of the current location where these structures stood.

Use the slider below to see what lives here now

If you’re interested in seeing more of my colourized photos linked to geographic locations, see my Prince Rupert in Colour collection on Historypin.