Stewart

Stewart is a mining town of about 500 people (2011) in British Columbia. Stewart is surrounded by breathtaking mountains, an emerald rainforest, clean fresh air and pure drinking water. Stewart is one of the vital gas stations on the Stewart Highway to Alaska. The bear viewing platform and the Salmon Glacier near its twin town on the Alaskan side of the border, Hyder, are the main vistas.

History
The Nisga'a First Nation, who lived around the Nass River, called the head of Portland Canal Skam-A-Kounst, meaning "safe house" or "strong house", probably because it served them as a retreat from the harassment of the Haida and Tlingit from the outer coast. They travelled in the area seasonally to pick berries and hunt birds. It and the rest of the Portland Canal had been the domain of the Tsetsaut people, also called the Skam-a-Kounst Indians, or Jits'aawit in Nisga'a, an Athapaskan people who became decimated by war and disease and were driven out of the Stewart area by either Haida or Nisga'a in 1856–57.

The Portland Canal was explored and named in July 1793 by Captain George Vancouver in honour of William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (1738–1808), Home Secretary from 1794 to 1801. The area around the Portland Canal was again explored in 1896 by Captain D.D. Gaillard of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (after whom the Gaillard Cut in the Panama Canal was later named). Two years after Gaillard's visit, the first prospectors and settlers arrived. Among them was D.J. Raine, for whom a creek and a mountain in the area are named. The Stewart brothers arrived in 1902. In 1905, Robert M. Stewart, the first postmaster, named the town Stewart.

Gold and silver mining dominated the early economy. Nearby Hyder, Alaska, boomed with the discovery of rich silver veins in the upper Salmon River basin in 1917 and 1918. Hyder became an access and supply point for the mines, while Stewart served as the port for Canadian mining activity, which was centred on the town of Premier, which was accessed by a 23-km road from Hyder. Other mines in the area were the Jumbo, BC Silver, Red Cliff, and Porter-Idaho. More large camps were south of Stewart at Anyox and Maple Bay.

Stewart had a population of about 10,000 prior to World War I, which has fallen to less than 500.

By plane
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is in Terrace.

By car
Stewart is only accessible by road by Highway 37A, which connects it to Highway 37 (Stewart-Cassiar Highway) at Meziadin Junction, about 60 km (45 minutes drive) to the east; Meziadin Junction is about 2 hours north of Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway) at Kitwanga. Stewart is about 6.5 hours from Prince Rupert and 8.5 hours from Prince George.

Stewart has mobile wireless service, but the next mobile wireless service is not until Kitwanga, if heading south, or near Watson Lake, Yukon, if heading north.

Driving distances from:
 * Highway 37 north
 * Alaska Highway (west of Watson Lake, Yukon):
 * Whitehorse, Yukon:
 * Fairbanks, Alaska:


 * Highway 37 south
 * Terrace:
 * Prince Rupert:
 * Prince George:
 * Vancouver:

Do

 * Bear watching around Stewart, and during the Salmon run specifically at Fish Creek near Hyder (Alaska side)

Drink
Get 'hyderized' across the border in Hyder.

Stay safe
There are frequently bears around the area, it is thus important to stay bear safe, especially when camping.

Go next

 * Obvious choice would be Hyder, Alaska. Just a 4-minute drive from downtown Stewart.
 * Turnaround and go back to Meziadin Junction and explore the Stewart-Cassier Highway.