Dome Creek, between Penny and Crescent Spur on the southwest side of the Fraser River in central British Columbia, provides a year-round destination for hiking, hunting, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. The scattered community of about 40 permanent residents clusters the railway line and the actual creek (crossed by its own road and rail bridges). The creek and town are similarly named after Dome Mountain. The recreational facility, which occupies the former school building, houses the community hall, a public library and a museum, with a small rustic post office nearby. The visitor centre (former library) stands at the front of the lot occupied by the former community hall. "(Content specific to Bend or Kidd is contained in those articles.)"
Transportation.
A trackside signpost marks the flag stop for Via Rail's Jasper – Prince Rupert train. The immediate Via Rail stops are Bend to the northwest and Loos to the southeast.
When Greyhound cancelled this route in 2018, this scheduled bus stop closed. BC Bus North, the replacement operator, runs non-stop between Prince George and McBride.
History.
Railway.
The creek mouth was from Fort George via the Fraser. Dome Creek has historically described both a specific place and the general area several miles on either side, such as Mile 141, or Mile 142. With river access to bring in labour and supplies, the vicinity may have comprised 2,000 workers housed in construction camps stretching from Mile 141 to 146. Foley, Welch and Stewart (FW&amp;S) was the prime contractor for the Mountain Section. However, owing to unprecedented low water limiting navigation, FW&amp;S's larger boats remained berthed from early winter, 1911, to spring, 1913. Cement supplies for the bridge were stranded at the Goat River Rapids, awaiting sleigh transportation once winter arrived. The concrete for the bridge's east abutment was poured before the end of 1912.
During spring 1913, the west abutment was completed. When the river thawed, the FW&amp;S boats were launched to bring supplies from the railhead base at Tête Jaune.
The low-level Dome Creek and Hansard railway bridges curtailed the previous steamboat navigation. The railway started construction, despite not having received approval from Ottawa's Board of Railway Commissioners with respect to their height clearances, which triggered a response by the Barnard steamboat organization. The Dome Creek bridge crosses the Fraser at Mile 56.7, Fraser Subdivision (formerly about Mile 146, though contemporary articles inadvertently quoted instead the camp locations at Mile 145, or Mile 142). A temporary wooden trestle carried the track until the steel bridge's completion.
The Bates &amp; Rogers Construction Co. were the contractors for the bridge substructure (piers and abutments) and the Canadian Bridge Co. for the superstructure (steelwork). By August, the steel bridge girders were being installed, and the railway tracks had been laid from Mile 53 (Tête Jaune) to Mile 138, and then Mile 142. The Railway Commission having handed over control to the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP) to operate this section, their first passenger arrived at Mile 141 that month. Their directive for a drawbridge reversed, the Railway Commission sanctioned the low-level bridge, which by October was nearing completion.
During construction, small seven-ton locomotives operated on the temporary narrow gauge (24-inch) track laid in advance of the permanent track. A surviving example exists in the Prince George Railway &amp; Forestry Museum. When one such locomotive sank into the muskeg nearby, a second one also sank while trying to extract it. At least one of these is believed to be preserved in the bog. The location included a water tower and wye. An alighting passenger, and the laying of a 10-foot wide cinder sidewalk for passengers that winter, suggest a 1921 opening date for the station nestled between Bend to its northwest, and Kidd to its southeast.
Pumpman John (Jack) E. (1876–1941) &amp; Lottie Brennan, who arrived in 1915, were part of the community's social circle. Retiring in 1940 after 25 years as pumpman, he died before receiving his first superannuation cheque. A guard, who was presumably armed, defended the crossing during World War II. Speeders or railway cars provided the only transport for medical emergencies, but often it came too late. Trains sometimes struck straying livestock.
When the Prince George-McBride way freights, coming from opposite directions, passed at Dome Creek during the 1950s, there was a sufficient break for passengers to change trains. In 1985, a derailment occurred at Mile 55. The station building, which was opened, closed and cleaned daily until the early 1990s, went in 1996. In 2000, the section crew relocated. The present flag stop location appears established.
Pioneer Community.
Dome Creek, an ideal location for timber, tourists and hunting, developed possibly as more than one settlement, that ultimately consolidated westward at its present location. Over time, both the industrial and railway infrastructure moved in that direction. James O. Kendall, manager of Upper Fraser Lumber Co. ;templatestyles src="Crossreference/styles.css" / ;, was the inaugural postmaster 1916–19.
John (Jack) W. Carneski (1893–1975), who remained single, operated his mixed farm until death immediately east of Dome Creek on the north half of Lot 3275. Claiming a 1911 arrival, the first record of his presence was 1924. Among the few remaining pioneers in the vicinity, he outlived James B. Hooker (1884–1955) of Bend and Ernest H. Jensen (1890–1966) of Kidd. 
By 1920, Mr. Bremner ran a store. Rancher James (Jimmy) Stewart (1883–1960) opened a billiard parlour, barber shop, restaurant, and later, a store. He was postmaster 1920–25, a role commonly performed by a storeowner in such towns. Andrew Stewart (1898–1941), his brother, who assisted in the store, was postmaster 1925–26. James moved and opened a store in Snowshoe. Farmer William Reade (probably c.1876–1944) ran a general store, and was postmaster 1927–31.
Arriving in 1917, T. Francis (Frank) (1881–1951) and Chris (1892–1979) Gleason were pioneers to the area, who had left America to escape the World War I draft. The brothers were prospectors, trappers, and supply agents for fox breeding. During the 1932/33 winter, Chris shot a big timber wolf prowling near the school, one of numerous sightings around the community. Purchased from Stewart in 1927, their general store existed longest. They were fined for exceeding the controlled prices during World War II. After Frank died, Chris operated the store until its sale in 1957. Frank was postmaster 1937–51.
Margaret (?–1953) &amp; Henry (1884–1978) Miller, known for his teams of horses, settled in Dome Creek in the 1910s. In 1919, while Henry was picking blackberries, his uncle rescued him from a vicious bear mauling. A year later, at his trial for burning O.B.U. mail, he was acquitted. In 1922, the family relocated to west of McBride, where they ran a dairy farm. On selling this property to Nance Lumber ;templatestyles src="Crossreference/styles.css" / ;, he returned to Dome Creek as a logging contractor. He remained a resident until death. Their son James (1914–75) was postmaster 1951–?.
The school opened in 1918, with Malcolm Humphrey Rae as the inaugural teacher. In the early years, some community dances (often farewell functions) were held in the schoolhouse. After the railway construction phase, the population dwindled to 150 (which included 18 farmers) by 1921, and to 100 by 1927, revised to 125 by 1929.
Henry (usually stated as Harry) (1883–1973) &amp; Martha Alice (1886–1965) Robinson homesteaded around 1920. Their children were Nora (c.1910–?), Sheila (c.1911–1995), Montgomery (Montie) (1912–90), Kathleen (1913–82), William (Bill) (1917–96), Myrtle (c.1919–2014), Eileen (1920–92), Patricia (Pat) Ann, Mary M., Lyona (1925–2012), and Iona (1925–82).
In 1931, Sheila married Darrow Casey (1908–84), and they settled in Trail, where Myrtle, Mary, Montie, and Pat would follow. While working in Vancouver, Kathleen met and married Reginald George Clements (1900–83). While based in Prince George, Nora married Fred H. Stephens. Eileen married Harry Willard Webb (1912–74). Initially they lived locally, left briefly, returned briefly, and left permanently. Bill enlisted in 1941, married Jean Margaret Marsden (1916–2015) in England, but the couple settled in Vancouver after his 1945 discharge. Iona enlisted in 1943. Lyona married Floyd Berndt (1922–85) of Giscome, where they lived. Mary, in Trail, married Jack Minton (1913–77). Iona was engaged to John H. Hooper (1919–93), returned to Vancouver for business college, but married Charles Robert Ashworth (1925–82) of Trail, where the couple resided. Pat attended UBC. The Robinson Srs. relocated possibly to Trail about this time.
A. Helmer Westerlund (1889–1979) arrived in 1917. Olga (1902–98) arrived in 1924 and they were married three years later. To complement their farming income, Helmer worked in pole camps, and successfully sued contractor Fred Stevens (1867–1956) for non-payment of wages. Visiting school officials, railway employees, and dignitaries boarded at their house. Daughter Ruth (c.1928–55) attended high school in Prince George, where Olga joined her for a period. Ruth moved away, married Donald Watson in 1952, but died of a blood disease. Sibling Ivan E. attended high school in Prince George, and married Beverley Beecroft in 1956. 
Acquiring a quarter section, and over time purchasing from his parents and others, their farm increased to six quarters. Relocating to Prince George in 1955, Helmer and Olga ran a boarding house until 1974. In 1979, Ivan's oldest son, Ivan Jr, attended the Jericho Hill School for the Deaf in Vancouver, an institution whose reputation has since been sullied by evidence of rampant sexual abuse. The couple raised four further children at Dome Creek. Three of the children received a quarter, which they farmed on visits from Prince George.
Later Community.
The population of about 50 hovered in the 80s during World War II. During the 1940s, residents often attended the Penny dances, By the 1950s, dances for the whole family occurred monthly in the community hall.
On the closure of the Bend school in 1946, those students transferred. The left-hand section of the present building dates from 1954, with the right-hand wing added two years later to accommodate over 40 pupils. A new three-roomed teacherage opened in 1955. From Grade 9, children either took correspondence courses or boarded at the McBride high school dormitory. Later, Dome Creek only went to Grade 7. Peaking at 38 students, numbers were mainly in the 15–18 range from the mid-1960s to 1980. The average enrolment during the 1980s was 14. By the mid-1980s, operating at 38 percent student capacity, and smaller class sizes, significantly increased costs per student. Unlike its counterparts slated for closure, the school was granted special status until 1991. At the request of the parents, the school added Grade 8 from the 1992/93 year. With only six students, the school closed in 2001. The school bus ride to McBride took 90 minutes each way. Assumedly, the additional passenger load temporarily extended the route closer to Dome Creek, rather than the previous terminus at Walker Creek FSR junction, away. 
John E. (1906–87) &amp; Jean (1909–96) Humphreys arrived from Penny in 1957 (1947 a misprint). John, who ran the store 1957–63, owned one of the most complete collections of Canadian coins in Northern BC. While Jean, a registered nurse, became the medical emergency volunteer, John introduced the weekly movie night in the community hall at this time, both services they had provided at Penny. Son James (Jim) R. (1940–2011) &amp; Dianne Humphreys stayed 1969–83. Their children were Howard, Holly, Hunter, and Hilary. John unsuccessfully ran for RDFFG director for area H (Dome Creek-Dunster). They returned in 1993.
During the 1960s, Audrey &amp; Russell (1920–91) Stannard managed a boarding house at Dome Creek. A Mennonite family owned the Creekside Store for a few years, before Jean &amp; G. Alan Fuller Howe operated the store and post-office from 1967 until the store closure in the early 1970s. Son David &amp; Wendy Howe subsequently managed the post office.
The population was 81 in the late 1980s. The Dome Diner operated a 24-hour restaurant during the early 1990s. Closed and boarded up, it stands on Highway 16 at the Dome Creek Road turnoff. Sue's Kitchen existed in the late 1990s, followed by Ma's and Pa's Kitchen.
The Catholic Church, that opened in 1960, but closed after a decade, is now a residential building. A reunion, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the former school, was held August 6–8, 1993.
Crime, Calamity &amp; Safety Measures.
A double drowning occurred near Mile 145 in 1915.
During the spring flood of 1936, when the Fraser reached the underside of the rail bridge, the CNR parked a trainload of rock cars on the bridge as a precaution.
Without a firefighting service, houses burned to the ground. Her husband Alvin (1892–1972) away, Ellen Margaret English (1906–97) was home