Telegraph Creek

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}} {{infobox settlement |name = |native_name = |native_name_lang =  |settlement_type = |image_skyline = Telegraph Creek warehouse, British Columbia (S2004-958 LS).jpg |imagesize = |image_alt = |image_caption = |image_flag = |flag_alt = |image_seal = |seal_alt = |image_shield = |shield_alt = |etymology = |nickname = |motto = |image_map = |map_alt = |map_caption = |pushpin_map = Canada British Columbia |pushpin_map_alt = |pushpin_map_caption = |pushpin_label_position = |coordinates = {{coord|57|54|N|131|10|W|region:CA_type:city|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|JCLCW|Telegraph Creek}}</ref>|display=inline,title}} |coor_pinpoint = |coordinates_footnotes = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Canada |subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces and territories of Canada|Province]] |subdivision_name1 = [[British Columbia]] |subdivision_type2 = [[Regional district]] |subdivision_name2 = [[Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine|Kitimat–Stikine]] |subdivision_type3 = |subdivision_name3 = |established_title = |established_date = |founder = |seat_type = |seat = |government_footnotes = |government_type = |governing_body = |leader_party = |leader_title = |leader_name = |unit_pref = Metric   |area_footnotes = <ref name=census2016/> |area_urban_footnotes =  |area_rural_footnotes =  |area_metro_footnotes =  |area_magnitude =  |area_note = |area_water_percent = |area_rank = |area_total_km2 = 1.46 |length_km = |width_km = |dimensions_footnotes = |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = |population_footnotes = <ref name=census2016>{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Statistics Canada|date=2017-02-08|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Telegraph Creek, Indian reserve [Census subdivision], British Columbia and Kitimat-Stikine, Regional district [Census division], British Columbia|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=5949847&Geo2=CD&Code2=5949&SearchText=Telegraph%20Creek&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0|access-date=2020-09-21|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref> |population_as_of = [[2016 Canadian Census|2016]] |population_total = 53 |population_density_km2 = auto |population_note = |population_demonym = |timezone1 = |utc_offset1 = |timezone1_DST = |utc_offset1_DST = |postal_code_type = |postal_code = |area_code_type = |area_code = |iso_code = |website =  |module = |footnotes = }} '''Telegraph Creek''' is a small community located off [[British Columbia Highway 37|Highway 37]] in northern [[British Columbia]] at the confluence of the [[Stikine River]] and Telegraph Creek.<ref>{{BCGNIS|35678|Telegraph Creek (community)}}</ref> The only permanent settlement on the [[Stikine River]], it is home to approximately 250 members of [[Tahltan First Nation]] and non-native residents. The town offers basic services, including Anglican and Catholic churches, a general store, a post office, a clinic with several nurses on-call around the clock, two [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] officers, and a K-9 school. Steep river banks and rocky gorges form the terraced nature of the geography.

The community includes '''Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6''', '''Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve No. 6A''', and '''Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve No. 12'''<ref>{{BCGNIS|32497|Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve 6}}</ref><ref>{{BCGNIS|32499|Telegraph Creek Indian Reserve 6A}}</ref><ref>[https://apps.gov.bc.ca/pub/bcgnws/names/60002.html BCGNIS entry "Guhthe Tah Indian Reserve 12"]</ref> which are under the governance of the Tahltan First Nation of Telegraph Creek. '''Stikine Indian Reserve No. 7''', which is one mile west (downstream) and on the opposite side of the Stikine River, is under the governance of the [[Iskut First Nation]] of the settlement of [[Iskut, British Columbia|Iskut]], which is on the [[Iskut River|river of the same name]]. The two bands together comprise the [[Tahltan Nation]].

[[Tahltan]] (or Nahanni) refers to a [[Northern Athabaskan]] people that live around Telegraph Creek, [[Dease Lake, British Columbia|Dease Lake]] and [[Iskut, British Columbia|Iskut]].

==History== The [[Stikine Country|Stikine region]] is the traditional home of the [[Tahltan]] people, who have lived there for generations. The modern history of the Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake area dates back to the 1860s and 1870s with the [[Stikine Gold Rush|Stikine]] and [[Cassiar Gold Rush]]es. Telegraph Creek witnessed the discovery of gold by prospectors on the Stikine River in the 1860s and was the head of navigation. In 1866, the construction of the [[Russian–American Telegraph|Russian-American Telegraph]] line to the [[Yukon]] gave Telegraph Creek its name.

As early as 10,000 years ago, the Tahltan people used [[obsidian]] from the [[Mount Edziza volcanic complex]] to make [[tool]]s and [[weapon]]s for trading material. This is the main source of obsidian found in northwestern British Columbia.<ref>[http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/exhibits/journeys/english/mountain_1_4a.html Journey & Transformations: British Columbia Landscapes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011185251/http://www.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/exhibits/journeys/english/mountain_1_4a.html |date=2007-10-11 }} Retrieved on 2007-10-13</ref><ref>[http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/feature_edziza_e.php Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes - Stikine Volcanic Belt: Mount Edziza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080610154204/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/feature_edziza_e.php |date=2008-06-10 }} Retrieved on 2007-10-13</ref>

In 1874, [[Nellie Cashman]], nicknamed "the Angel of Cassiar", opened a boarding house for miners in Telegraph Creek during the [[Cassiar Country#Cassiar Gold Rush|Cassiar gold rush]].<ref>Kathy Weiser (2017), [https://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-nelliecashman/ "Nellie Cashman – Pioneering the Mining Camps"], ''Legends of America'', Retrieved 20 January 2018</ref>

Author [[Edward Hoagland]] wrote extensively about Telegraph Creek in his 1969 book ''Notes from the Century Before: A Journal from British Columbia'' in which he reveals the presence of a high level of ghost activities.<ref name="ny_books">{{cite journal|last=Flint|first=R.W.|title=Ah! Wilderness|journal=[[The New York Review of Books]]|date=September 11, 1969|url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1969/sep/11/ah-wilderness/|access-date=29 August 2010}}</ref><ref name=bfp_june2011>{{cite web|last=Johnson|first=Tim|title=Ted Hoagland: The making of an essayist|url=http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110626/ARTS04/106260306/Ted-Hoagland-making-an-essayist|work=Burlington Free Press|access-date=27 June 2011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120730080658/http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110626/ARTS04/106260306/Ted-Hoagland-making-an-essayist|archive-date=30 July 2012}}</ref>

==Recreation== Telegraph and its surrounding areas are known for their hiking, riverboating, camping, hunting and fishing. There are organized tours lasting from half a day to several days.

The area surrounding Telegraph Creek holds five British Columbia Provincial parks: *[[Stikine River Provincial Park]] and [[Mount Edziza Provincial Park]] (both located near Telegraph Creek) *[[Great Glacier Provincial Park]] ({{convert|100|km|abbr=on}} to the southwest) *[[Choquette Hot Springs Provincial Park]] (southwest of Telegraph Creek) *[[Border Lake Provincial Park]] ({{convert|180|km|abbr=on}} to the south)

==Access== The road between Dease Lake, BC and Telegraph Creek is beautiful but rough, with {{convert|113|km|abbr=on}} of gravel, steep gradients (up to 20%), narrow passages along canyon walls with no guardrails, and sharp-angled switchbacks. Only the first {{convert|4.7|km|abbr=on}} stretch is paved.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://explorenorth.com/library/roads/tel-ck-rd-photos.html |title=An Explorer's Guide to the Telegraph Creek Road |work=Explore North |access-date=11 September 2022 |quote=}}</ref>

Telegraph Creek Road (also called Hwy. 51) should be driven with caution and awareness; it is suitable for most vehicles but is not recommended for large RVs and travel trailers. One source indicates that "the road is prone to washouts and rock slides".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/canada/5751-telegraph-creek-road.html |title=The unpaved road to Telegraph Creek is a Canadian classic |work=Dangerous Roads |access-date=11 September 2022 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/rock-slide-blocking-northern-bc-highway-no-detour-available/ |title=Rock slide blocking northern B.C. highway; no detour available |date=November 6, 2019 |work=CTV News|access-date=21 January 2021 |quote=}}</ref> At times when the road is closed, the government of BC provides warnings on its www.DriveBC.ca Web site.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021TRAN0056-000727 |title=Telegraph Creek Road west of Dease Lake closed until further notice |date=April 15, 2021 |work=Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC|access-date=21 January 2021 |quote=}}</ref>

The community can also be reached by water, via the Stikine River from Alaska and by air.

==Notable people from Telegraph Creek== * [[Dempsey Bob]], carver * [[Dale Campbell]], carver

==See also== *[[Telegraph Creek Airport]] *[[Telegraph Creek Water Aerodrome]] *[[Iskut, British Columbia]] *[[Glenora, British Columbia]]

==References== <references/>

==External links== * [http://britishcolumbia.com/plan-your-trip/regions-and-towns/northern-bc-and-haida-gwaii/telegraph-creek/ British Columbia.com] - Telegraph Creek

[[Category:Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia]] [[Category:Tahltan]] [[Category:Stikine Country]] [[Category:Populated places in the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine]] [[Category:Hudson's Bay Company trading posts]] [[Category:Populated places on the Stikine River]]