Name/Title
Suspension Bridge, Cariboo Road, Spuzzum, B.C.Entry/Object ID
2016.02.05Description
Photograph
This black and white image documents the Spuzzum B.C. suspension bridge, completed in 1863, the first of a series of “Alexandra Bridges” (named for Princess Alexandra of Wales) to be built over the mighty Fraser River Canyon in the B.C. Interior to enable transport and settlement in the area.
The Nlaka'pamux and Sto:lo First Nations have lived along the Fraser Canyon for thousands of years. There is evidence that an early bridge was built as a way to access different fishing areas along the river.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
Black and white photo on paperSubject Place
Region
Cascades and PlateauContinent
North AmericaContext
This Alexandra Suspension Bridge was part of the original Cariboo Road, initiated in 1860 by James Douglas, Governor of the Colony of B.C. and built in 1862-63. The bridge functioned as a vital link in the Cariboo Wagon Road, bridging the southern part of the Colony and the rapidly growing north, and enabling access by prospectors and explorers to the booming Cariboo gold rush of the 1860s, centered in Barkerville. In this way, the First Alexandra Bridge played a small but vital role in developing the economy of the colony. Unfortunately, the Bridge fell into significant disuse less than 20 years later, superseded by the expansion of the railway systems in the early 1880s. The First Alexandra Bridge was subsequently destroyed by the great Fraser River floods of 1894 and was finally dismantled in 1912. The original footings of this bridge are still visible under the Second Alexandra Bridge, built in 1926. This Second Bridge was decommissioned for vehicle traffic in 1964, when the Trans-Canada was completed in 1962 and another bridge was built across the Fraser River a few kilometers away. The Second Bridge was recognized as a Historic Place of Canada in 2011, and in June 2021 plans for its restoration were announced. The Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park was established in 1984.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Richard Henry Trueman (1856-1911)Role
PhotographerDate made
circa 1900Time Period
19th Century, 20th CenturyNotes
PHOTOGRAPHER BIOGRAPHY
Born in Ontario, Richard Trueman was a noted Canadian landscape photographer, known for the strength of his imagery, his technical skill and the historical value of his work. Trueman began his career as a tinsmith, but, by 1886 he had purchased a photo studio, calling it the Popular Photograph Parlor. He sold this studio in 1888 and moved to Brandon, Manitoba, to homestead, then returned to Ontario and formed a partnership with young Norman Caple from England. Trueman and Caple traveled the Canadian Pacific Railway line for about a year photographing historical places and landscapes. Trueman then set up a commercial photographic studio in partnership with Caple headquartered in Vancouver. After the partnership dissolved, Trueman remained in the city and later set up his own firm. He traveled through the Prairies, spending considerable time in Medicine Hat from 1894 to 1899. He continued to travel extensively and up until two months before his death was managing his Revelstoke branch studio.
Trueman was recognized as a superb landscape photographer and was one of few Westcoast photographers to print his negatives on platinum paper. Platinum prints are the most durable of all photographic processes and are noted for their richness, 3-D quality and subtlety in rendering tonalities. Significant collections of his work are held by the City of Vancouver Archives and the Vancouver Public Library.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionLocation
LL: 43 SUSPENSION BRIDGE CARIBOO ROAD SPUZZUM, B.C.
LR: R.H. TRUMAN & CO. VANCOUVER, B.C.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageDepth
25.4 cmLength
31.8 cm
