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Shuswap History in Pictures: A very different kind of houseboat

In 1934, Sicamous residents looked on as a whole house was moved by barge down the channel
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A house for the Sabourin family is towed to its final destination near Sicamous using a barge and tugboat in 1934. (Sicamous and District Historical Society Photo)

Sicamous has become famous for houseboats, but in 1934 a photographer captured a very different kind of floating home.

As people looked on and documented the event on film, a house for the Sabourin family was loaded onto a barge and then towed down the Sicamous channel and through the railway bridge which had to be swung open to accommodate the two storey structure.

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According to photos in the Sicamous and District Museum and Historical Society’s collection, the log raft with the house on top was towed by the tug boat Alvera captained by Eino Mackie.



jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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A house for the Sabourin family is towed to its final destination near Sicamous using a barge and tugboat in 1934. (Sicamous and District Historical Society Photo)
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Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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