Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
Skeena Cannery also referred to as Cunningham Cannery was built in 1883 by Robert Cunningham the founder of Port Essington. In 1926, the cannery mess house was destroyed by fire that also burned 23 other buildings in Port Essington.
Alternate Names
Location
Year Built
Best pack
Last Season
Cunningham Cannery
Port Essington
1883
1924, 18,001 cases
1926
Zoom In/Out with mouse wheel. Drag image with mouse.
View of Port Essington from behind with Skeena(Cunningham) Cannery on the left side, Skeena River Commercial Cannery in the middle and British American Cannery on the right side Courtesy Olson Family Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
Retorts or large pressure cookers for salmon used in the canneries. Courtesy BC Archives
Skeena Packing Co a label from Skeena (Cunningham) Cannery, with the Diamond C trade mark of Robert Cunningham. Courtesy BC Archives
Canning lines in a cannery on the Skeena River Courtesy BC Archives
Skeena Packing Co label from Skeena (Cunningham) Cannery, with the Diamond C trade mark of Robert Cunningham. Courtesy BC Archives
Shoveling snow off a wharf at Skeena (Cunningham) Cannery. from left to right is: Jim Flewin, Martin Paulsen, Felix Brown, Daniel Brown as a child, Walter Payne, Clarie Letnes as a child and cannery caretaker Martin Letnes. Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
Skeena Packing Co a label from Skeena (Cunningham) Cannery, with the Diamond C trade mark of Robert Cunningham. Label was for clams which were canned in the late summer after the salmon season. Courtesy BC Archives
Skeena (Cunningham) Cannery with Cunningham’s house on the left and two stermwheelers at the wharf. Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
A G Harris and Mr & Mrs Morrey visiting the former site of the Skeena Cannery. Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
G A Taylor, bookkeeper for Cunningham Cannery Courtesy Harris Fonds and Prince Rupert City and Regional Archives
Sources:
Armstrong, Cliff Sternwheelers on the Skeena , 2001
Bennett, Norma V Pioneer Legacy: Chronicles of the Lower Skeena River, 2001
Macdonald, Joseph F. Macdonald’s Steamboats & Steamships of the Pacific Northwest.
O’Neill, Wiggs Steamboat Days on the Skeena River, 1963
Wright, E. W. Lewis & Drydens Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, 1967.
