The Long Way
Kamloops
A small ferry boat carrying cars on a river with green hills in the background.
Plate I. McLure Ferry crossing the North Thompson River. Photograph by Theshowmecanuck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A ferry crosses a wide river surrounded by trees and hills under a cloudy sky.
Plate II. McLure Ferry on the North Thompson River. Photograph by Theshowmecanuck, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
A small orange ferry carrying a truck and a camper on the water.
Plate III. McLure Reaction Ferry carrying a truck. From drivebc.ca
A truck and camper are loaded on a small cable ferry crossing a river.
Plate IV. McLure Reaction Ferry carrying a vehicle. From www2.gov.bc.ca

McLure Reaction Ferry

Kamloops, British Columbia. Inland ferry.

Details

Where
Kamloops, BC. No street address stated. Directions
When
On demand 7:00 am – noon, 1:00 pm – 6:20 pm.
Season
No service during high water or winter freeze up. Detour via Westsyde Road.
Getting there
The McLure ferry runs across the North Thompson River, 43 kilometres north of Kamloops—off Highway 5 (east side of river).
Fees
free of charge to users.
Access
No service during high water or winter freeze up. Detour via Westsyde Road.
Phone
250 374 6690
Website
drivebc.ca
Managed by
Argo Road Maintenance Inc.
Coordinates
51.041165, -120.241456.

The McLure ferry runs across the North Thompson River, 43 kilometres north of Kamloops—off Highway 5 (east side of river).

Notable Events

  1. 1909The town of McLure was named after John McClure, an early rancher in the area. barrierestarjournal.com
  2. 1919The province of British Columbia put the ferry service in place after a private ferry had been operated by ranch hands, ranch owners and farmers. cfjctoday.com
  3. 1919The provincial government took over the ferry's operations in 1919; afterward, talks of terminating service began with plans to build a bridge between Vinsulla and Black Pines. web.archive.org
  4. 1928The cable fouled and the ferry swamped; Edward Williams reached shore, but ferryman George Mill Brown was thrown into the river and drowned. sunpeaksnews.com
  5. 1960sThe current ferry, the second vessel to serve the crossing, was a sturdier steel replacement for the original. cfjctoday.com
  6. 1990Sherry Lidstone said her investigation showed local farmers operated the original ferry from 1890 to 1990, when the government took over. barrierestarjournal.com
  7. 2003During the 2003 McLure Wildfire evacuations the ferry made 125 trips in 24 hours to get residents out and firefighters in; the Town of Barriere evacuated and the ferry was the only way out. barrierestarjournal.com
  8. During the ’03 fire, about 100 ferry trips a day were made. cfjctoday.com

People

  • John McClure, early rancher; namesake of the town of McLure.
  • Jan Moore, ferry operator (30 years).
  • George Mill Brown, postmaster and ferryman at McLure.
  • Lorene Fennell, president of the North Thompson Museum; source of the ferry's early history.

Sources

  1. www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/passenger-travel/water-travel/inland-ferries/mclure-reaction-ferry
  2. drivebc.ca/?start=null&end=null&type=ferry&id=12
  3. barrierestarjournal.com/2019/05/16/mclure-ferry-celebrating-100-years-of-service-in-2019
  4. cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/mclure-ferry-kamloops-british-columbia-history-north-thompson-museum-1.5143803
  5. sunpeaksnews.com/mclure-ferrys-100th-brings-back-memories-of-a-river-tragedy
  6. cfjctoday.com/2019/06/04/after-100-years-in-operation-mclure-ferry-still-has-purpose-in-the-region