Oct 28, 2017 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)

In June 1905 a very special event took place in the Pacific Northwest, at which the City of Greenwood received special honours. The event was the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon. While not listed as a 'World's Fair', the Exposition was certainly a worldwide event. Officially titled the 'Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair', the Expo attracted exhibits and visitors from all over the world.

Opening on June 1st, 1905, the Lewis and Clark Centennial Expo ran for 4½ months, closing on October 15th. During that period, there was one special day dedicated to the City of Greenwood, British Columbia, as announced by the Boundary Creek Times on June 30th, 1905. The notice was part of the Council report on correspondence received:_[1]

"From management of Lewis and Clark fair, stating that July 3 had been named Greenwood Day and asking the council to be present. The services of a brass band were also offered the council while in Portland. Received and filed."

That the Lewis and Clark Expo organizers should name one day of the fair "Greenwood Day" begs the question: why was this honour bestowed upon Greenwood?

The history books tell us that Lewis and Clark never made it to Greenwood on their grand expedition. In fact, the intrepid American explorers never crossed into Canada. Their closest point of arrival was the Blackfeet Indian Reservation at Browning, Montana, around 75 km. south of the border, due south from Lethbridge, AB.

Balloon over Guild's Lake, 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition

It appears that the rationale for creating Greenwood Day was a marketing decision. The City of Portland, at great risk and expense, put on this massive exposition in hopes of attracting visitors, money, and especially new residents to their city. And the plan worked! Over the course of the exposition's four½ month run, it attracted more than 1.6 million visitors, who came to enjoy featured exhibits from 21 countries. And in the years immediately following, Portland grew from 161,000 to 270,000 residents, between 1905 and 1910 -- a growth spurt that was attributed to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition.

Because Greenwood was something of a metropolis at the turn of the century, and within relatively easy travelling distance, naturally the Portland organizers were anxious to attract as many of our thousands of residents as possible. Their publicity campaign started well before Greenwood received its official invitation. In April 1905, the Times announced:_[2]

"We have received a very beautiful 48 page folder, published by the Great Northern Railway Co., entitled "A camera journey to the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition," bound in a handsomely engraved cover and exquisitely printed and illustrated. Each page is printed on a buff tint and the whole work reflects the greatest credit on the publishers and the printers, The Pioneer Press, St. Paul. The size of the booklet is very convenient, 5 inches by 7, and copies can be obtained by application to any of the railway company's principal offices."

June 1st, 1905 — Opening Day of the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition
[ Photo: Oregon Historical Society. Library, #BA018900 ]

A few of Greenwood's residents were enticed to travel to the Portland Expo in the days before the letter of invitation to Council even arrived._[3] On June 20th, "Mr. and Mrs. Manchester of the Queens hotel and Miss Manchester left Tuesday for a month's visit to the Portland Fair."

There were a few notables_[4-5] who passed through Greenwood on their way to the Lewis and Clark Expo. James Donnahue and Richard Armstrong of Chicago stopped in Greenwood before heading to the expo. Mr. Donnahue was one of the owners of the Helen mining claim at Greenwood. Mr. Armstrong was well known in the Boundary, having been president of the Grand Forks Townsite company. After visiting the Helen and Phoenix camps, the pair headed to Portland for the fair.

We haven't found any indication that the Greenwood City Council accepted the invitation to arrive as honoured guests at the Centennial Exposition for July 3rd, Greenwood Day, and if they did, whether or not they took up the offer to be greeted by a brass band. There is mention in the Times that on October 4th, Mayor George R. Naden (elected Jan. 1904) traveled to Portland:_[6-7]

"Mayor Naden and Mrs. Naden left Wednesday on a trip to the coast. They will visit the Portland fair."

A later report announced that their departure had been delayed by right-of-way difficulties on the V. V. & E., but they were able to depart shortly after.

Among the other Greenwood residents who got mention in the society pages_[8] for their travels to the Portland Exposition were Dad Frith and Dick Stephen, who were announced as 'running wild-cat' in late July for a month of travel. In August, Greenwood postmaster K C. B. Frith was accompanied by R. K. Stephen for a month-long visit to the fair and points on the coast. Upon return, they reported having had an enjoyable vacation. Also in August, W. F. Smith, of Smith & McRae went to the Portland Fair, as did Mrs. Fred Anderson. In September, Anaconda News editor Frederic Keffer and wife, and Assistant Superintendent Williams of the Greenwood smelter and his wife traveled to the fair, followed in October by Thomas Hemmerle.

Even today, a great many mementoes and collectibles from the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition can be found at auction and in collections, such as the beautiful gold $1 coins produced by the United States Mint,_[9] of which only 9, 997 went into circulation.

U. S. Mint Commemoration Lewis & Clark Gold Dollar

As enormous as the Portland exposition was, it still had competitors for the entertainment dollars of Greenwood residents. This is evidenced by many news items found in local historic papers, which refer to the Lewis and Clark expo alongside several others to be held that year, including the Spokane Fair, the Dominion Fair at New Westminster, the Montana State Fair at Helena, and the Washington State Fair at North Yakima. While visitors likely had no real point of comparison until they'd actually arrived at the Portland fair, the Lewis and Clark Expo dwarfed all the others. Comparing budgets, we see that the well established Dominion fair at New Westminster cost $100,000 that year, while the Centennial Exposition cost nearly $1.5 Million.

Travelers were also encouraged to visit multiple fairs by the railway companies, who put package trip tickets together:_[10]

CHEAP RATES TO COAST

"Are you going to Portland fair? If so, why not go while the Dominion exhibition is on at New Westminster, and take in both fairs for the price of one? The Canadian Pacific railway will issue tickets to Portland and return at $21.15, good for 30 days, and to New Westminster on Sept. 25th to Oct. 4th, inclusive, good to return to October 11th, for $19.35 from Greenwood, with corresponding rates from other Kootenay points. Commencing September 26th and continuing daily until October 26th, sleeper will be run between Arrowhead and Vancouver for the accommodation of Kootenay passengers. For tickets, reservations, etc., apply to any C. P. R. agent or write, to J. S. Carter, D. P, A., Nelson, B. C."

Exhibits inside the Forestry Building
[ Image: PDXhistory.com ]

Along with personals announced in the Social pages, much of the commentary found in the Boundary Creek Times was about the sharing of resources between fairs, particularly between the Lewis and Clark Expo and the Spokane Fair. Because the Portland fair was so expansive, the smaller local fairs such as Spokane and New Westminster had an opportunity to attract more exhibits, entertainment and livestock to their own fairs, after they had been shown in Portland. Many such mentions appeared in the Times,_[11] such as the announcement that the Annual Spokane Interstate Fair would be brining much prize-winning livestock from the Portland expo, which would close down just before Spokane opened its gates.

The Exposition Colonade
[ Image: PDXhistory.com ]

A trainload of exhibition livestock was transported from the Minnesota State Fair to the Portland Expo, and it stopped off to participate in the Spokane Fair. "W. E. Skinner, manager of the Union stock yards of Chicago, will bring the trainload. It will be probably the finest lot of blooded cattle ever brought to the Pacific coast."

The Spokane Fair was also looking forward to a much improved racing programme, as horses from Portland would arrive on their track. The New West fair announced:

"The Sockeye Run, which will be the same sort of thing at the 1905 Dominion Fair as the Trail is at the Lewis & Clark fair in Portland, will have every line of attraction known to the show man. There will be more of these entertainments on the ground than has ever been seen outside of a world's fair. The Dominion Fair opens at 1 o'clock on Wednesday, September 27, and closes on October 7th."

Exposition Site Map

Whether it was our City Council met by a brass band, or simply a large contingent of Greenwood residents who travelled to Portland to enjoy the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, the fact that Greenwood was the official honoree for a day, at such an important world gathering, is quite remarkable. Clearly, Greenwood's place in the history of the Pacific Northwest reaches well beyond the edges of our Boundary region.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Boundary Creek Times — Jun 30, 1905, p. 5
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172651

[2] Boundary Creek Times — Apr 21, 1905, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172647

[3] Boundary Creek Times — Jun 23, 1905 p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172468

[4] Boundary Creek Times — Jun 30, 1905, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172651

[5] Boundary Creek Times — Jul 07, 1905 p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171764

[6] Boundary Creek Times — Oct 06, 1905, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171652

[7] Boundary Creek Times — Oct 13, 1905, p 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171681

[8] Society Page Travel Announcements:

Boundary Creek Times — Jul 28, 1905, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172559

Boundary Creek Times — Oct 06, 1905, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171652

Boundary Creek Times — Aug 04, 1905, pp. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171922

Boundary Creek Times — Aug 25, 1905, pp. 3 & 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172563

Boundary Creek Times — Sep 08, 1905, pp. 5 & 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171625

Boundary Creek Times — Sep 15, 1905, p. 4 & 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172383

Boundary Creek Times — Sep 22, 1905, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172410

Boundary Creek Times — Nov 03, 1905, p. 8
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172413

[9] Boundary Creek Times — Jul 28, 1905, p. 3
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172559

[10] Boundary Creek Times — Sep 15, 1905, p. 4
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172383

[11] Sharing of Resources between Pacific Northwest Fairs:

Boundary Creek Times — Jul 07, 1905 p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171764

Boundary Creek Times — Aug 04, 1905, pp. 5 & 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171922

Boundary Creek Times — Aug 11, 1905, p. 4
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171795

Boundary Creek Times — Sep 08, 1905, pp. 5 & 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171625

REFERENCES:

PDX History