Barnston Island Ferry

Location of Barnston Island Ferry in Metro Vancouver

In 1913, a government wharf was built.[4] A private ferry may have existed soon after.[5] In 1916, the government ferry began operating.[6] The next year, the ferry underwent a complete overhaul. Services were suspended during the spring high water for six weeks, and during winter when ice floes were hazardous, which proved inconvenient for the transportation of milk, grain, hay and potatoes.[7] In early times, when the river froze solid during winter, produce could be skated across the ice.[8]

By 1927, the ferry, which ran continuously during peak periods, was becoming old and inadequate.[9] The tug was replaced in 1930,[10] and a larger barge built in 1931.[11] In the 1936–37 winter, the ferry was refloated after floating ice had rammed it against the island slip.[12] While the ferry was being overhauled, the replacement service was limited to foot traffic.[13] That September, while backing a car at the mainland slip, a ferry worker drove into the river. After struggling to exit the submerged vehicle, he finally surfaced.[14]

In 1940, a new 11-metre (35 ft) ferry replaced the former barge, and appears the year that the service became free to passengers.[15][16] In 1944, a new 4.9 by 16.5 metres (16 by 54 ft) two-truck capacity barge arrived and an infill above the high-water mark shortened the island landing ramp.[17] In 1945–46, the island landing ramp received minor repairs and a seven-pile dolphin across the river was renewed.[18]

Ferry with Barnston Island in background, 2005

While the fast-flowing river rapidly rose during the Fraser flood of 1948, 35 families, 500 head of cattle, 300 sheep, and numerous poultry, pigs and horses were evacuated on ferry barges adapted with additional railings to corral the livestock.[19] Bypassing the ferry slip then 4.6 metres (15 ft) below water, the B.C. Packers boat Salmon Prince also assisted in the evacuation.[20] In 1949, a freshet took out the island landing ramp, forcing the ferry to land on the beach for months.[21]

At least until the 1950s, a truck would cross on the ferry and pick up the milk churns daily from around the island for delivery to Dairyland. In 1951, the upended wreck of a ferry that sank years previously was destroyed with explosives.[22] In 1954–55, a new 4.9 metres (16 ft) steel barge was built.[23] Ferry captain since 1930, Len Thompson retired in 1962.[24] In 1964, a 20-metre (66 ft) steel tug replaced the wooden one, with the island landing rebuilt.[25]

After the 2009 withdrawal of the Albion Ferry, the Barnston Island Ferry, the Lytton Ferry and the Big Bar Ferry became the last remaining free inland ferries on the Fraser. Residents have sought a bridge link for over a 100 years.[7][26]

Recent years:[27]

Annual automobile equivalents                                                                                   Annual passengers