| Huble
Homestead is a step back in
time to when trappers, miners and settlers worked and shared the
land. During the early-to-mid 1900s the settlement played an important
role in the movement of goods and as a trading post. Today,
the homestead is a popular historical destination in the Giscome
Regional Park located north of Prince George, BC, Canada.
Established in 1989, the 54 acre park includes
the Huble Homestead and the many pioneer buildings plus the Giscome
Heritage Trail. A historic trail which starts just outside
the entrance of the homestead and once served as the main transportation
link used by pioneers and First Nation people connecting to the
Summit Lake area.
In 1903 a pioneer named Al Huble from Ontario,
Canada settled in Fort George. During his stay Al met a fellow
trapper named Edward Seebach. Al with his new friend Ed set up
traplines at the southern end of the Giscome Trail. Seeing the
traffic along the route the partners saw an opportunity and built
a trading post at the foot of the trail to serve the miners and
trappers passing through.
In the winter of 1910/1911 Al Huble met Anne May
Hart. His first trip in five years away from the homestead. Al
took little time to propose. The story goes Al proposed to Anne
on News Year Day when the sled they were riding over turned. Together
they raised 4 daughters and 3 sons on the Huble Homestead.
When Al returned with his bride he set out on his
biggest project - the family home. Built from logs on the property
the two story Huble House included a four bedrooms, a kitchen,
a parlor, a cellar, a dining room and a view office for Al Huble
so he could see travelers coming and going from the road and river.
As years pass Al, Anne and Ed would build a homestead
around the trading post to accommodate the growth of their business.
At the peak of business Al Huble and Edward Seebach provided guiding,
surveying, freighting and fur trading services.
In 1919 everything came to a halt as a road connecting
to Summit Lake reduced the foot traffic on the trail eventually
forcing Ed and his family to sell in 1929 and move to Prince George.
After the Hubles left the new owners transformed the settlement
into WM Ranch providing wilderness tours for tourists. The 1930s
Trapper Cabin built by Ivan Wayant that use to house the ranch
hands is at the Huble Homestead Heritage Site to view.
The many buildings, artifacts and signs at the
Huble Homestead provide the stories and facts detailing the lives
of the early pioneers that settled in the region. An example is
the Salmon Valley Post Office once run by Stearns and Gertrude
Maude McNeill from 1924-43. There is a Welcome Barn built in 1915
which once housed the tools for Al Huble's freighting and agricultural
business. The Large Barn reconstructed in 1972 (original built
in 1915) is home to the livestock on the farm presently.
There is so much to see and learn onsite. Too much
to list here. But to give you an idea of how much there is to
see at the Huble Homestead here is a list of some of the other
buildings onsite - a storage cache, chicken house, outhouses,
a root cellar, craft cabin, a flat roof cabin, implement shed,
warehouse, blacksmith shop and the Seebach and Huble General Store.
Onsite is some picnic tables, outhouses and the
General Store is a working store. Admission is from donation so
please be kind as it takes allot of people and effort to maintain
the heritage site.
Contact information for
the local Prince George, BC accommodations, tours, guides,
golf courses and attractions, realtors, etc. are posted
under the links listed to your right. =) |
How to get to the Huble
Homestead: Travel north of Prince George BC along
Hwy 97 (John Hart Highway) for 40 Kilometres. Look for Huble Homestead
turn off on Mitchell Road. Take turn off and travel 6 km to the
Huble Homestead. Right before the entrance to the homestead is
the Giscome Trail.
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