The Last Spike

Donald Alexander Smith driving the last spike at Criagellachie, November 7, 1885

This famous picture of Donald Alexander Smith was taken when he was 65 years old. That day the workers had finished the last mile of track and Donald, in absence of the railway's president, was to drive the last spike. It was an ordinary iron spike, same as every other used on the railway. Everyone crowded around to watch, Donald swung the maul... and missed and bent the nail. On his second try, with gentler taps, he succeeded in driving the nail home.

"The engineers, the workmen, every one present, appeared deeply impressed by what was taking place. It was felt by all to be the moment of triumph. The central figure - the only one at the moment of action - was more than the representative of the railway company. His presence recalled memories of the Mackensies, Frasers, Finlaysons, Thompsons, McLeods, MacGillivrays, Stuarts, MacTavishes and MacLoughlins, who , in a past generation had penetrated the surrounding mountains." (McDonald, 326).

There was silence for a moment or two and then a spontaneous cheer echoed through Craigellachie. Just two and a half days later, Donald Alexander Smith was back in Montreal, completing a journey that had taken him two weeks fifteen years before. He carried a bent railway spike in his pocket.

Works cited:

The Last Spike Picture from The Atlas of Alberta Railway, University of Alberta Press 2005.

MacDonald, Donna Lord Strathcona: A Biography of Donald Alexander Smith Dundurn Press, Toronto, Ontario, 1996.

The History of Vancouver's Strathcona: Perserverance of the People

A small area east of Main Street was the birthplace of Vancouver and its first neighborhood - Strathcona. Once a native campsite called Kumkumalay meaning "big leaf maple trees", this area became a small collection of shacks and cottages until in 1865, Captain Edward Stamp chose the site for a sawmill and the area soon developed into a residential neighborhood.
Strathcona's present geography is bordered by Chinatown to the west, Clark Drive to the east, Hastings Street to the north and Great Northern Way (the CPR railroad) to the south.


Strathcona saw major growth from about 1886 to 1920, after William Van Horne announced that Vancouver would be the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). It emerged from the settlement around Hastings Mill and became a large working class neighborhood encompassing diverse cultural groups.
As a result of its increased industry and available housing, Strathcona (then called the "East End") became home for the successive waves of Canadian immigrants. Strathcona Elementary, one of Vancouver's oldest schools, was a good indication of that diversity; in the 1930s school enrollment included Japanese, Chinese, Italians, Jews and smaller numbers of Scandinavians, Russians, Ukranians and Blacks. Though there were no distinct boundaries, most of the Japanese community lived north of Hastings, the Italian community between Union and Prior Streets, the Ukranian Hall (built 1928) still exists at Pender and Hawks, and at Heatley and E. Pender the Schara Tzedeck Synagogue was built. Hogan's Alley ran throught the southwest corner of Strathcona and was home to the African Methodist Episcopal Foundation Chapel in 1908.


Unfortunately, the "East End" name came to have a derogatory meaning and in the 1950s, urban city planners decided that the Strathcona area would be slated for demolition and redevelopment. By 1967, 15 blocks including Hogan's Alley were cleared and the city planned to use the blocks between Union and Prior to build a freeway for the new Georgia Viaduct.
The Strathcona community fought back; the opposition was comprised of activists within the community like Mary Lee Chan. Chan was determined not to lose her home whic was slated for demolition. She, and others from the community (mainly housewives) formed the Strathcona Property Owner and Tenants Association (SPOTA) and protested at City Hall(www.mothertongue...). Through determination and perserverance, Chan and others managed to convince City Hall that Strathcona was a vibrant community worth preserving and they put a stop to the rest of the development plans. Their show of determination against the odds is a great example of Strathcona's residents living up to their benefactor's name and reputation!


Today, approximately 8,000 people live in the Strathcona area, 61% list their first language as Chinese and 24% English. Many of the buidings from Strathcona's early development are still there; in 1992 the Vancouver Heritage Register listed 208 structures in the Strathcona area as having heritage status (www.city.vancouver...) . The architecture is considered some of Vancouver's oldest and most fragile, and there is concern that future development of the downtown core, unsympathetic renovation or new constuction may discount or endanger the historical impact of this unique neighborhood.

Works cited:

Info on Mary Chan and STOPA:
http://www.mothertongue.ca/community.php?id=1093574665

Heritage Register: (amended every year)
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/Guidelines/V001.pdf

Pictures:
(from top of page)

Frank, Leonard. "Men Standing on lumber on Grand Trunk flatcar at Hastings Mill" Vancouver Public Library, Archive # 12443, 1925.

Map of Strathcona. www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/community_profiles/strathcona/www.carnegie.vcn.bc.ca/index.pl/historical_images>

"Recess at Lord Strathcona School" Author Unknown, 1960. www.carnegie.vcn.bc.ca (see link above)

"The Goergia Viaduct". Author Unknown, No Date. www.carnegie.vcn.bc.ca (see link above)


"Mary Lee Chan and her family in front of their house which was slated for demolition"
Personal photograph by: Shirley Chan, Jo-Anne Lee, Tony Westman. No Date, www.mothertongue.ca (see link above)

Docksteader, Russell. "House with Turret in Strathcona" August, 2006 <http://flickr.com/photos/ridock/22334521/>