Claxton is a historical salmon cannery and community located at the mouth of Claxton Creek on the eastern shore of Telegraph Passage in the Skeena River estuary, about 66 miles (106 km) southwest of Terrace and 19 miles (31 km) south-southeast of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The name “Telegraph Passage” commemorates the route taken in 1866 by the steam sternwheeler Mumford, under Captain Horace Coffin, to transport cable and supplies from Victoria for the Collins Overland Telegraph construction. Claxton Creek originates at the outlet of Ptarmigan Lake, at an elevation of 2,133 feet (650 m), and flows northwest for about 3 miles (4.8 km) to reach Telegraph Passage. The watershed is underlain by Permian to Triassic metamorphic rocks of the Alexander terrane, which consist of a broad range of volcanic, sedimentary, and plutonic rocks and their metamorphic equivalents. A large dolomitic deposit is located about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the water at Claxton. Founded in 1891 by the Royal Canadian Packing Company, Claxton was the first remote cannery built on the Skeena River, beyond the protected waters of the river mouth and closer to the fishing grounds.

The cannery was named after Frederic J. Claxton, one of the site’s promoters. It featured a large wharf built over the tidal mudflat, extending into deep water, allowing steamers to dock year-round. In 1893, a sawmill, powered by water from a flume, was constructed to produce lumber and boxes for the Claxton facility and other Skeena canneries. The community , with a population of 200, included sidewalks, a post office, a church, a large store, a boat shop, and a waterfront hotel that advertised the health benefits of nearby hot springs. In 1899, Claxton was acquired by the Wallace Brothers Packing Company, which later became Wallace Fisheries. The sale included 150 acres (61 ha) of land, dwelling houses, administrative buildings, a store with stock, a sawmill, a blacksmith forge, fishing boats, nets, gear, and a fully equipped canning factory. The factory had two complete canning lines, five retort ovens, cold storage, and a boiler house. In 1923, Wallace Fisheries was purchased by Kildala Packing Company. Kildala was acquired by British Columbia Packers in 1926. The company operated the facility until it closed in 1944, then used it as a seine net loft until 1949.

Claxton was strategically located on the main navigation channel used by steamships traveling between Victoria and the Skeena and Nass Rivers. The remote canneries in the Pacific Northwest depended on coastal steamers to transport machinery, supplies, and labor crucial for their seasonal operations, as well as to ship the canned goods at the season’s end. The best canneries were situated where specific environmental conditions were met, such as a tidewater berth large and deep enough to accommodate these ships. A gently sloping shoreline with a soft substrate was essential for driving piles to construct the cannery over water. This minimized the time and labor required for handling fish and facilitated the disposal of waste products. It also allowed smaller fishing boats to be hauled out of the water at the season’s end. A reliable water supply was necessary as well, sourced either from a nearby stream or diverted from a lake. Claxton exemplified a site with all these attributes, making it one of the best cannery locations in the Pacific Northwest. Read more here and here. Explore more of Claxton and Telegraph Passage here: