The first settlers paid $50.00 per family for a bond which was to
pay their transportation to the colony. Many colonists, some with
families arrived in 1897. More followed in the next year. There was a pooling of labour, each helping others ...locating properties
and helping with erection of homes.
1897 - mid June - a group of fourteen men traveled to River's Inlet
from Cape Scott in hopes of making some money from fishing, the
year of 1897 was a poor season.
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The Post Office
Ted Dykes stands beside his house at Cape Scott, which doubled as the post office in the 1920s.
Photo courtesy Ruth Botel.
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1897 - the store (and it later contained the
post office) was built at Fisherman's Bay. Nels C. Hanson
was the manager of the Cape Scott Co-operative Store, he
was nicknamed "the grocer". The Cape Scott settlers bought shares at $10.00 a share.... this
investment helped the store get started. The first order of supplies
arrived July 5th 1897 - among the supplies was: 2 sacks rolled
oats, 1 sack beans, 5 sacks potatoes, 1 case of lard, 1 case
Reindeer (brand name?) milk, 1 box Evap. apples, 1 case
tomatoes, 1 box Evap. prunes, 25 pounds currents, 1 sack salt, 25
Ibs. whole roast coffee, 2 boxes Tea - 35 Ibs., Spices, 30 Ibs.
sago,
1 sack Japanese rice, 1 tub creamery butter - 25 Ibs., 1 cheese - 17
Ibs., 1/2 case roast mutton -30 cans, 1 case roast beef- 30 cans, 1
case coal oil - 35 gal., 1 box anchor soap - 3 doz., 1 (?) eagle
soap
-30 bars, 1 box Baking powder - 1 doz., Royal yeast cakes - 2
doz., 10 plugs P. W. tobacco, 10 plugs P .B. tobacco there
were many other items including clothing in the order. There was
a second grocery order for the same date. The next orders arrived
on Aug. 9th and 3 Others and regularly after that.
The trails were constantly worked on. Sometimes with
government pay, other times for nothing. Corduroy was used
where the ground was soft or damp. The trail to Fisherman's Bay
was wide enough for a wagon and from that trail to the dyke was
as wide. The other trails were improved as time allowed. Some of
these trails were originally made by the Native people.
1898 in the early spring, Carl Rasmussen traveled to Victoria and
purchased a sawmill. The boiler from this mill sat at the side of
Fisherman's River on the raised bed of stones until the late 1960's
when the river, during a storm, corroded the bank and the boiler
tumbled in. Some historians have imagined that this boiler was
used by N.P Jensen for his milk condensory N. P. never had a
milk condensory! Carl with the help of his brother-in-law, Theo
Frederiksen, cut needed lumber for the settlers in hopes of pay
after the fishing season.
July 8th 1898 - the first baby born to the new settlement was
Bende Dorthea Rasmussen.
1898 - July 26th - the first order for school supplies arrived.
Included in the order were readers, spellers, reading charts, copy
books, Lowells geography books, 1 atlas, grammar books, 30
slates, 1 box slate pencils, 2 doz. lead pencils, 2 doz, pen holders,
1 box pen nibs, erasers, ink, chalk another order of school
supplies arrived in Oct. Carl B. Christensen was the first school
teacher ...nicknamed "Professor Christensen". He adopted 3 boys
to bring the school population up to the required level.
1898 - The population of the colony was listed as aprox. 90.
1899 - The first dyke was completed, immediately the flood gates
were put in. That evening, in celebration of the completion, the
settlers gathered for a well earned party which lasted through the
night. A strong southeast storm came up during the night and took
the gates out along with a big chunk of dyke. One theory was that
the gates were put up too early before the dyke had properly settled
-the dyke was not yet strong enough to withstand the weight of
the water.
1901 - the Canadian Census gave a population of 65 for Cape
Scott.
