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Evelyn Lamport on Merrill & Ring railroad trestle

Evelyn Lamport on Merrill & Ring railroad trestle (present site is just north of Ayr Drive in Garibaldi Highlands). Built along the face of rock bluffs. Photo taken ~1928 on the way to Alice Lake.

Merrill and Ring, an American company bought their claim in 1888 for 25 cents per acre. This went from Valleycliffe through the foothills to Brohm Lake. They did not set up in the valley until October 1926. The operation had come from Duncan Bay, before that they had been at Camp O near Alert Bay. Their first camp is where Valleycliffe is located now. They employed 200 people. The hiring was done by Loggers' Agencies in Vancouver. They would fall the trees with cross cut saws then haul the logs with a steam donkey to the train. They used a steam axe to split the wood as machines used only wood fuel at the time.

A lot of Merrill and Ring timber was burnt in a Norton McKinnon fire in 1927. The McKinnon's engine was given as payment. Aloysius McNalley and John Broomquist collected it. The same year, Arthur Edwards assisted in the building of the Merrill & Ring camp at Edith Lake.

In 1929, Merrill and Ring moved their operation across the Mamquam valley to Edith Lake east of Alice Lake. A settlement of 225 men was set up there. Railway track covered the mountainside from Cheekye River southward.

Merrill and Ring closed in 1930 due to the low price of logs during the Depression. Logs were selling from 5 to 6 dollars per thousand. At this time, the logs were hauled by train to the dump at the mouth of the Stawamus River. Merill and Ring started back up in 1932.

Merrill and Ring shut down 3 times in 1937: after New Years due to snow, due to fire season, and in the fall when a bridge over the Cheekye River was washed out. Merrill and Ring left Squamish in 1940.

Stamish Creek Bridge, late 1940's

The Squamish language spelling of Stawamus is STA-a-mus which is a variant of the word Sta-mus, which means shelter. Squamish is another variation of the word and means "birthplace of the winds". Pioneers often used "Stamish" instead of "Stawamus". The name refers to the Squamish Nation reserve at the mouth of the Squamish River (Reserve #24), the Stawamus River, the area drained by it and the "Chief".

Cheekye as seen from the bridge

Cheekye is from the Indian name for Mount Garibald - in-ch-KAI which means "dirty place". The mountain was so named since dirty snow would result when dust would be blown onto the snowfields from cinder cones and lava. The pioneers adapted this name to the area and river.

Merrill & Ring Bridge over the little Mamquam

Merrill & Ring Bridge over the little Mamquam (Mashiter Creek) picture taken looking north showing sky line for taking Pile Driver to north side of canyon (1928 - 1929).
Left to right: Brian Buckley (?), "Big Dave" Thompson (steel boss-track layer), Freddy Tom (Merrill & Ring car builder son), Billy Dawson (?).
Photo by: Ed Aldridge.

Mashiter Creek was named after William Mashiter.

Aldridge, Ed

M Creek Bridge washout

On October 28, 1981, 4 vehicles plunged into a creek after debris flow had destroyed the M Creek Bridge on the Squamish Highway during heavy rains. 9 people died including Tammi Lee Boscariol, daughter of Squamish residents William and Anne Boscariol, and her boyfriend William Stewart Short.

Work at little Stawamus bridge

The actual Indian spelling of Stawamus is STA-a-mus and is a variant of Squamish and means "birthplace of the winds". Pioneers often used "Stamish" instead of "Stawamus". The name refers to the Indian reserve at the mouth of the Squamish River (Reserve #24), the Stawamus River, the area drained by it and the "Chief".
Squamish Public Library, Squamish Files: Place Names.

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