Author Archives: Swany

Dave Henry Creek

British Columbia. Creek: Columbia River drainage
Flows SE into Canoe River, SW of Valemount
52.7444 N 119.0972 W — Map 83D/11 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1913
Name officially adopted in 1934
Official in BCCanada
Everett Bogardus, Phil Estwein and Dave Henry, about 1914

Everett Bogardus, Phil Estwein and Dave Henry, about 1914
Valemount and Area Museum

Dave Henry first visited the Valemount area before 1910. “He and Fulton McKirdy came up the Canoe Valley in a scow from Revelstoke as far as they could,” said Mike Frye, whose family accompanied Henry to the area from North Dakota in 1911. Henry was “one of the best liked in the district, a real story teller,” according to another early settler. He was nicknamed “the Grizzly” because of his hair.

Henry opened the first store at Swift Creek (later named Valemount) in 1912. He is listed as storekeeper in the 1937 Valemount voters’ list, and as a cook in the 1943 Valemount post office directory. He was trail cook for the Hargreaves brothers’ hunting parties for many years, and also trapped in the area. Henry moved to Kamloops in the early 1950s, and from there to a Vernon nursing home. He died in the early 1960s.

Origin notes from BC Geographical Names: Davehenry Creek adopted 12 June 1934, not Avalanche Creek as labelled on Dominion Sectional sheet 262, Yellowhead, 1916, nor Cache Creek as labelled on BC map 3H, 1919. Davehenry Creek confirmed 17 January 1951 on Jasper Park (North). Form of name changed to Dave Henry Creek 8 July 1953 on Columbia River Basin manuscript 79: “flows SW into Canoe River…” (file C.1.53). Location description and coordinates of mouth adjusted 11 March 1974 on 83 D/11, because of flooding of McNaughton (now Kinbasket) Lake.

References:

  • Robson Valley Courier. Weekly newspaper published by Pyramid Press of Jasper from 1968–88 (1968–1988).
  • Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Dave Henry Creek

Daam Road

Feature type: road
Province: British Columbia
Location: Forks S off Hwy 16 W of Horsey Creek

Dutch-born I. D. (Dik) (born 1912) and Louisa (born 1920) Daam retired to the Dunster area in 1970.

References:

  • Personal correspondence.

Cushing Creek

British Columbia. Creek: Fraser River drainage
Flows N into Morkill River E of Mount Bagg
53.6714 N 120.3644 W — Map 093H09 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BCCanada

Adopted in 1925 and so-labelled on Boundary Commission Sheet 36, published in 1925 from surveys of 1923.

Nearby triangulation station “Cushing” is labelled on the 1925 sheet, although it had been identified as “Swanson” on preliminary maps and in the report of the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission (Vol III, p.50). Apparently the creek had been tentatively labelled “Swanson Creek” on preliminary sheet #36 (Ottawa file OBF 0897).

Named after A. B. Cushing, holder of timber licenses along the creek and a large lumber retailer in Calgary. (A. B. Cushing Mills, established 1911, is still in operation.)

References:

  • Cautley, Richard William [1873–1953], and Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. Report of the Commission Appointed to Delimit the Boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Parts IIIA & IIIB, 1918 to 1924. From Yellowhead Pass Northerly. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1925. Whyte Museum
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Cushing Creek

Curve Creek

British Columbia. Creek: Fraser River drainage
Flows SW into Fraser between McBride and Legrand
53.3717 N 120.3039 W — Map 093H08 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1965
Official in BCCanada
This creek appears on:
Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune 3H 1919 [Curve Cr. (Coyote)]
Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune 3H 1923 [Curve Cr. (Coyote)]

“Curve (Coyote) Creek” labelled on BC map 3H, 1915. “Curve Creek (not Coyote Creek)” identified in the 1930 BC Gazetteer.

References:

Also see:

The Cube Ridge

British Columbia. Ridge
Headwaters of Fraser River
52.54 N 118.3464 W — Map 083D09 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1924
Official in BCCanada

The ridge was named by the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission in 1921.

Our cubehouse still rocks as earwitness to the thunder of his arafatas but we hear also through successive ages that shebby choruysh of unkalified muzzlenmiissilehims that would blackguardise the whitestone ever hurtleturtled out of heaven.

Finnigans Wake
References:

  • Cautley, Richard William [1873–1953], and Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. Report of the Commission appointed to delimit the boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Part II. 1917 to 1921. From Kicking Horse Pass to Yellowhead Pass.. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1924. Whyte Museum
  • Cautley, Richard William [1873–1953], and Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. Report of the Commission Appointed to Delimit the Boundary between the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Parts IIIA & IIIB, 1918 to 1924. From Yellowhead Pass Northerly. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1925. Whyte Museum

Croydon

British Columbia. Locality
On Canadian National Railway between Dunster and Shere
53.0667 N 119.7167 W — Map 83E/4 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1911 (GTP map)
Name officially adopted in 1983
Official in BCCanada
63 miles west of the Yellowhead Pass on the Canadian National Railway
Mile 37 in Tete Jaune Subdivision (Red Pass to McBride as of 1977)
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station built in 1913. Rebuilt in 1954 by Canadian National Railways.

Croydon (flag station) adopted 23 May 1963, as labelled on BC map 3H, 1919, and as identified in the 1930 BC Gazetteer. Form of name changed to Croydon (locality) 31 May 1983 on 83E/4.

The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station at Croydon (Mile 63) was named after the town of Croydon, England.

The name appears on the 1915 land pre-emptor’s map of the McBride area. Etter and McDougal Lumber operated an 80-man sawmill at Croydon until 1919, when a brush fire spread to the yard. Sandy McDougal allowed the Croydon school board to use an old bunk house for the school. Contributions from Croydon, England, made possible the construction of an Anglican Church and burial grounds in 1935.

The Croydon post office was open from 1917 to 1968.

References:

  • Wheeler, Marilyn. The Robson Valley Story. McBride, B.C.: Robson Valley Story Group, 1979
  • Haralson, Doris Neely. Northland Echoes. Yarrow, B.C.: Published by the author, Box 31, 1981
  • Topping, William. A checklist of British Columbia post offices. Vancouver: published by the author, 7430 Angus Drive, 1983