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John Houston (newspaperman)
Encyclopedia
John Houston was born in November 1850 in Alton, Ontario.
In British Columbia
his career as a newspaper publisher and editor spanned twenty-two years, beginning in 1888 in the town of Donald
. Later he would publish newspapers in New Westminster
, Nelson
, Rossland
and Prince Rupert
. His last paper would be printed in 1910 at South Fort George
. John was married, though his wife, Edith May Keeley, didn't follow him on his constant ramblings throughout the province and stayed at their mansion in Nelson.
for West Kootenay-Nelson
from 1900 to 1903 and Nelson City from 1903 until 1907. During this time, he became well known for being a working-man's advocate
and he often spoke against the policies of the Canadian Pacific Railway
and supported a motion to stop provincial aid to railways.
John moved to Prince Rupert in the summer of 1907 to start the Prince Rupert Empire newspaper. In this paper he planned to continue his vocal opposition to the policies of the railroad, this time the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
. The GTP knew full well of John's reputation and did not appreciate his presence in Prince Rupert, their terminus, and a town they had grand designs for. Before John could print a single edition, the GTP harbor engineer impounded his printing press in a small shed on the wharf. Undetered, John decided to have his paper published in Victoria
and when the first edition got to Prince Rupert, it carried the headline that the GTP discourages newcomers to town. Other editions followed, and for two months, the Victoria-based Prince Rupert Empire blazed with editorials, prose and often poetry, describing the railway managers as "tin-gods" and accusing them of "a thousand blunders". After only two months of editions, the Empire had sold 10,000 copies of a paper originally meant for a population of 500. Then, with the assistance of a local constable, John liberated his press and continued publishing. Charles Melville Hays
who was then the President of the Grand Trunk Pacific, arrived in Prince Rupert later that year and offered John a permit to put his building wherever he liked. But, by then, John didn't need a lot in Prince Rupert. He'd filed on a mineral claims near the wharf and had built the Empire Newspaper Office. If Charles Hay's had hoped that his intended cooperation with John would gain the railroad favor with the Empire, he must've been sorely disappointed. John began encouraging other people to squat on the mineral claims by the wharf, instead of buying lots in the new GTP townsite, thus creating the community of Knoxville. The Grand Trunk Pacific had had enough. When the lots at Prince Rupert went up for sale in 1909, the land John Houston's Empire was on was quietly bought up by the railway themselves. John sold his newspaper for $10,000 and left for Fort George.
John Houston arrived in Fort George in the fall of 1909 and bought property in South Fort George and began the Fort George Tribune. The first edition was published on November 6, 1909. Unfortunately, other than land claims notices there was little local news for his paper to report. In 1909, South Fort George was a First Nations village, a sawmill and a Hudson's Bay Store. Less than a dozen new residents lived in the infant town-site in tent shacks. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, John's favorite villain, was still far away: not even across the Alberta/BC border on the eastern end of construction, and the construction from the western end at Prince Rupert had just begun. John's South Fort George articles were often humorous and included notices as to whose cow recently had a calf and what he'd had to pay for eggs that week. He commented in one article about how his socks often froze to the floor while he sat at his printing press and worked on the newspaper. Nevertheless, whether there was little news to report or not, John was a busy man from November 1909 to March 1910. He responded to approximately 300 letters a month, written mostly by parties interested in purchasing land in the area, and he was working on formulating a platform for the Liberal Party
. In March 1910, the work and excessively cold caught up with him and John contracted pneumonia
and was pulled on a toboggan down the Blackwater Trail to the Quesnel
hospital by his friend and fellow pioneer settler, William J Cooke. John died on March 8 at the hospital in Quesnel, but not before he got a chance to read his own obituary, one printed in error by the Vancouver Province. His nurse, knowing his sense of humor, showed him the article, and he supposedly joked that he respected the paper and that they didn't need to make a correction because he was planning on making good on their story. John was laid to rest in Nelson, where there is a memorial in his honor.
In British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
his career as a newspaper publisher and editor spanned twenty-two years, beginning in 1888 in the town of Donald
Donald, British Columbia
Donald, British Columbia is located on Highway 1, 28 kilometers west of Golden. In its heyday, Donald was a divisional point on the Canadian Pacific Railway...
. Later he would publish newspapers in New Westminster
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....
, Nelson
Nelson, British Columbia
Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the extreme West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Known as "The Queen City", and acknowledged for its impressive collection of restored heritage buildings from its glory days in a regional silver rush,...
, Rossland
Rossland, British Columbia
Rossland is a city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.Tucked high in the Monashee Mountains, Rossland is at an elevation of 1023 metres . Population today is approximately 3500; a number that fluctuates from season to season. The population is at its peak during the winter...
and Prince Rupert
Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Prince Rupert is a port city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. It is the land, air, and water transportation hub of British Columbia's North Coast, and home to some 12,815 people .-History:...
. His last paper would be printed in 1910 at South Fort George
South Fort George
South Fort George is a suburb of Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.Before the arrival of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1914, the Prince George area was known as Fort George and was a Lheidli T'enneh village and Hudson's Bay Company store....
. John was married, though his wife, Edith May Keeley, didn't follow him on his constant ramblings throughout the province and stayed at their mansion in Nelson.
First mayor of Nelson
John Houston was the first mayor of Nelson, British Columbia and served from 1897 to 1905.Political career
John Houston was a member of the Legislative Assembly of British ColumbiaLegislative Assembly of British Columbia
The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is one of two components of the Parliament of British Columbia, the provincial parliament ....
for West Kootenay-Nelson
West Kootenay-Nelson
West Kootenay-Nelson was an electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1898 to 1903.For other ridings named Kootenay or in the Kootenay region, please see Kootenay .- Demographics :- Election results :...
from 1900 to 1903 and Nelson City from 1903 until 1907. During this time, he became well known for being a working-man's advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
and he often spoke against the policies of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
and supported a motion to stop provincial aid to railways.
Prince Rupert
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
. The GTP knew full well of John's reputation and did not appreciate his presence in Prince Rupert, their terminus, and a town they had grand designs for. Before John could print a single edition, the GTP harbor engineer impounded his printing press in a small shed on the wharf. Undetered, John decided to have his paper published in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and when the first edition got to Prince Rupert, it carried the headline that the GTP discourages newcomers to town. Other editions followed, and for two months, the Victoria-based Prince Rupert Empire blazed with editorials, prose and often poetry, describing the railway managers as "tin-gods" and accusing them of "a thousand blunders". After only two months of editions, the Empire had sold 10,000 copies of a paper originally meant for a population of 500. Then, with the assistance of a local constable, John liberated his press and continued publishing. Charles Melville Hays
Charles Melville Hays
Charles Melville Hays was an American railway executive of the Grand Trunk Railway. He died at sea on the RMS Titanic.-Early years:...
who was then the President of the Grand Trunk Pacific, arrived in Prince Rupert later that year and offered John a permit to put his building wherever he liked. But, by then, John didn't need a lot in Prince Rupert. He'd filed on a mineral claims near the wharf and had built the Empire Newspaper Office. If Charles Hay's had hoped that his intended cooperation with John would gain the railroad favor with the Empire, he must've been sorely disappointed. John began encouraging other people to squat on the mineral claims by the wharf, instead of buying lots in the new GTP townsite, thus creating the community of Knoxville. The Grand Trunk Pacific had had enough. When the lots at Prince Rupert went up for sale in 1909, the land John Houston's Empire was on was quietly bought up by the railway themselves. John sold his newspaper for $10,000 and left for Fort George.
Fort George
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. In March 1910, the work and excessively cold caught up with him and John contracted pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
and was pulled on a toboggan down the Blackwater Trail to the Quesnel
Quesnel, British Columbia
-Demographics:Quesnel had a population of 9,326 people in 2006, which was a decrease of 7.1% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Quesnel was $54,044, which is slightly above the British Columbia provincial average of $52,709....
hospital by his friend and fellow pioneer settler, William J Cooke. John died on March 8 at the hospital in Quesnel, but not before he got a chance to read his own obituary, one printed in error by the Vancouver Province. His nurse, knowing his sense of humor, showed him the article, and he supposedly joked that he respected the paper and that they didn't need to make a correction because he was planning on making good on their story. John was laid to rest in Nelson, where there is a memorial in his honor.
Places named after John Houston
- Houston, British ColumbiaHouston, British ColumbiaHouston is a forestry, mining and tourism town in the Bulkley Valley of the Northern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its urban population is approximately 3600 people, with approximately 2000 in the surrounding rural area. It is known as the "Steelhead Capital" and it has the world's largest...
- Houston Lane in Prince George, British ColumbiaPrince George, British ColumbiaPrince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...