Author Archives: Swany

Mount Pierrway

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British Columbia. Mount
S of Mount Quanstrom, head of Castle Creek
52.875 N 120.14 W — Map 093A16 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1966
Official in BC – Canada

Named to remember Canadian Army gunner Alfred Pierrway, K 601413, from Quesnel, serving with the Royal Canadian Artillery when he was killed at Fort Garry on 12 July 1942, age 22. Buried at Prince George Cemetery, grave 4. 2. H. Survived by mother Lily Miller, Quesnel.

Soldier found dead in bush after storm

Possibly a victim of Saturday night’s violent electrical storm, Pte. Alfred Pierway, of the Artillery Training centre, Fort Garry, was found dead in the bush near the barracks early Sunday morning.

There is nothing to lead police to believe there was any foul play but the initial examination revealed that Pte. Pierway died of shock. “There is a strong possibility he may have been struck by lightning.” Dr. O. C. Trainor, pathologist of Misericordia hospital, who is conducting the post mortem, told The Tribune today.

“Lightning may leave extensive marks or none at ail on the body.”

Dr. Trainor said the body showed traces of alcoholism.

The only mark found on Pte. Pierway was a bruise on his left side. Pte. Pierway, formerly of Quesnel, B.C. had returned to Fort Garry shortly after midnight Saturday following a trip to Winnipeg. At 7 a.m. Sunday a university student discovered the body near the bus stop and notified Cpl. I. Morrison, on sentry duty.

Chief Alex Martin, of Fort Garry, is investigating the case. It is not known whether an inquest will be held or not until more results are reported from the postmortem.

— Winnipeg Evening Tribune
References:

Mount Phillips

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Alberta-BC boundary. Mount
NW of Mount Robson
53.175 N 119.2597 W — Map 83E/3 — Google — GeoHack — Bivouac
Earliest known reference to this name is 1912
Name officially adopted in 1923
Official in BC – Canada
Elevation: 3246 m
This mount appears on:
Phillips’s map NW of Robson 1915
Boundary Commission Sheet 32 (surveyed in 1922 &1924)
Donald Phillips on Mt. Robson at altitude 12,000 feet. Photo: Rev. G. B. Kinney, 1909

Donald Phillips on Mt. Robson at altitude 12,000 feet.
Photo: Rev. G. B. Kinney, 1909
Canadian Alpine Journal, 1910

“Back on the horizon line between Iyatunga and Titkana is a fine point that I am calling Phillips Mountain, in recognition of Donald Phillips, who made the ascent of Robson with Dr. Kinney,” wrote Charles Doolittle Walcott [1850–1927] of his 1912 trip to the Robson area.

Donald “Curly” Phillips [1884–1938] was a Jasper guide and outfitter who accompanied George R. B. Kinney [1872–1961] almost to the top of Mount Robson in 1909. They made several ascents, finally reaching, on Friday, August 13, what Kinney claimed was the peak. Phillips later stated that the highest point had not been reached.

References:

  • Walcott, Charles Doolittle [1850–1927]. “The monarch of the Canadian Rockies.” National Geographic Magazine, (1913):626. Internet Archive
  • Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “The Alpine Club of Canada’s expedition to Jasper Park, Yellowhead Pass and Mount Robson region, 1911.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 4 (1912):9-80
  • Swanson, James L. [1947–]. Banff: George Kinney and the first ascent of Mount Robson (1999). Spiral Road

Mount Pelee

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British Columbia. Former name
Former name of Mount Fitzwilliam
52.8306 N 118.4569 W Google — GeoHack
Not currently an official name.
Mount Peelee and the Yellowhead Lakes. Yellowhead Pass, sentineled by Mount Peelee and the Yellowhead Mountains, offers for the transcontinental railroads the lowest and easiest gateway through the Canadian Rockies. Photo by Rev. George Kinney. National Geographic 1911.

Mount Peelee and the Yellowhead Lakes. Yellowhead Pass, sentineled by Mount Peelee and the Yellowhead Mountains, offers for the transcontinental railroads the lowest and easiest gateway through the Canadian Rockies. Photo by Rev. George Kinney. National Geographic 1911.

Also see

References:

  • Walcott, Charles Doolittle [1850–1927], and Walcott Jr., Charles Doolittle [1889–1913]. “A Geologist’s Paradise.” National Geographic Magazine, 22, no. 6 (1911). Internet Archive

Mount Pauline

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Alberta-BC boundary. Mount
Fraser River and Smoky River drainages
Near headwaters of Renshaw and Beaverdam creeks
53.535 N 119.8989 W — Map 083E12 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1925
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BC – Canada
This mount appears on:
Boundary Commission Sheet 35 (surveyed in 1923)
Boundary Commission Sheet 36 (surveyed in 1923)

Frederick Arthur Pauline [1861-1955] was the new Agent-General for British Columbia at the time of this mountain’s naming in 1925. The mountain was formerly known as “Curly Mountain”, after Donald “Curly” Phillips [1884–1938], a local guide, but the present name was chosen to avoid duplication.

During the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission surveys in 1923 a geodetic station “Curly” was established here. “Mount Pauline (not Curly Mtn)” identified in the 1930 BC Gazetteer.

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
  • Karamitsanis, Aphrodite [1961–]. Place names of Alberta. Volume 1: Mountains, Mountain Parks and Foothills. Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Mount Pauline
Also see:

Mount Mowat

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British Columbia. Mount
E of Moose Lake
52.9422 N 118.7325 W — Map 083D15 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1912
Official in BC – Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
This mount appears on:
Wheeler’s map Mount Robson 1912
Jobe’s map Jarvis Pass to Yellowhead 1915
Northern Alberta 1919 map
Boundary Commission Sheet 30 (surveyed in 1924)
Oliver Mowat

Oliver Mowat Wikipedia

In 1911, Arthur Oliver Wheeler [1860–1945] gave this mountain its name “owing to a resemblance seen from a certain point of view to the well known features of Sir Oliver Mowat” [1]. Kingston-born Oliver Mowat (1820-1903) was premier of Ontario from 1872 to 1896.

James Monroe Thorington and Howard Palmer state that “Mount Mowatt” was climbed in 1911 by Wheeler and Conrad Kain [1883–1934] “via Grant Brook from Grant Brook railway station” [2].

References:

  • 1. Wheeler, Arthur Oliver [1860–1945]. “The Alpine Club of Canada’s expedition to Jasper Park, Yellowhead Pass and Mount Robson region, 1911.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 4 (1912):9-80. Alpine Club of Canada [accessed 2 April 2025]
  • 2. Thorington, James Monroe [1895–1989], and Palmer, Howard [1883–1944]. A Climbers Guide to the Rocky Mountains of Canada. New York: American Alpine Club, 1921, p. 159. Internet Archive

Mount Morkill

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Alberta-BC boundary. Mount
Near headwaters of Morkill River
53.7 N 119.8333 W — Map 83E/12 — Google — GeoHack
Official in BC – Canada

The camera station “Morkill” was established on this summit in 1923 (BC-Alberta boundary sheet #37, and Report Part III, p.62); so-named by the Interprovincial Boundary Commission in association with Morkill River and Morkill Pass.

References:

  • Fay, Samuel Prescott [1884–1971]. The Forgotten Explorer: Samuel Prescott Fay’s 1914 Expedition to the Northern Rockies. Edited by Charles Helm and Mike Murtha. Victoria, B.C.: Rocky Mountain Books, 2009
  • Interprovincial Boundary Commission. Boundary between Alberta and British Columbia. Sheet 37. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1924. Internet Archive
  • 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 III – from 1918 to 1924. Atlas. Ottawa: Office of the Surveyor General, 1925
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Mount Morkill
Also see:

Mount Monroe

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British Columbia. Mount
N of McBride, S of McKale River
53.3972 N 120.1789 W — Map 93H/8 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1965
Official in BC – Canada
Stanley James Monroe

Stanley James Monroe
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Named in remembrance of Canadian Army Lance Corporal Stanley James Monroe, K41218, from McBride, who was serving with the Canadian Forestry Corps when he was killed 1 July 1942, age 24.

Cpl. Stanley Monroe, 24, son of Adrian A. Monroe and Lela A. Monroe of McBride, B.C., formerly of Edmonton and more recently of Czar and Camrose, who was drowned recently in Lake St. Joseph, Quebec, while on routine duty. Funeral was held at McBride with military honors.

— Edmonton Journal
References:

  • McBride Cemetary. Grave markers. 2000
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Mount Monroe
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Mount Milton

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British Columbia. Mount
N of junction of North Thompson River and Albreda River
52.6 N 119.1833 W — Map 83D/11 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1863
Name officially adopted in 1961
Official in BC – Topo map from Canadian Geographical Names
This mount appears on:
Milton and Cheadle’s map 1865
Mount Milton from Albreda Lake, on north branch of North Thompson River. Benjamin F. Baltzly, 1871

Mount Milton from Albreda Lake, on north branch of North Thompson River. Benjamin F. Baltzly, 1871
McCord Stewart Museum

William Wentworth Fitzwilliam Milton [1839–1877] journeyed across the northwest to the Pacific coast in 1862-63, accompanied by his physician, Walter Butler Cheadle [1835–1910].

In The North-West Passage by Land (London, 1865), the joint account of this expedition, they wrote, “We continued to follow the stream thus formed flowing south from Lake Albreda, which was reinforced by several branches from the westward, and saw before us a magnificent mountain, covered with glaciers, and apparently blocking up the valley before us. To this Cheadle gave the name of Mount Milton.”

References:

  • Milton, William Wentworth Fitzwilliam [1839–1877], and Cheadle, Walter Butler [1835–1910]. The North-West Passage by Land. Being the narrative of an expedition from the Atlantic to the Pacific, undertaken with the view of exploring a route across the continent to British Columbia through British territory, by one of the northern passes in the Rocky Mountains. London: Cassell, Petter and Galpin, 1865. Internet Archive
  • Zillmer, Raymond T. [1887–1960]. “The location of Mt. Milton and the restoration of the names ‘Mt. Milton and Mt. Cheadle’.” American Alpine Journal, Vol. 5, No. 1 (1943). American Alpine Club
  • Wikipedia. William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, Viscount Milton
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Mount McNaughton

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British Columbia. Mount
NE of Moose Lake, SW of Salient Mountain
53.0167 N 118.75 W — Map 83E/2 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1923
Official in BC – Canada
This mount appears on:
Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune 3H 1923
Boundary Commission Sheet 30 (surveyed in 1924)
Margaret McNaughton

Margaret McNaughton
Overland to Cariboo

Named by Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission surveyors after Margaret McNaughton [1856–1915], author of Overland to Cariboo, an account of an overland journey by 150 pioneers and goldseekers, from Fort Garry to the goldfields of British Columbia in 1862, published in Toronto, 1896.

Archibald McNaughton [1843-1900] was the youngest of the Overlanders who trekked from eastern Canada to the Cariboo gold fields in 1862. McNaughton was born and educated in Montreal. After arriving in the Cariboo in 1862, he spent several years in mining and several more in commerce. In 1884 McNaughton was appointed assessor and collector for the district of Cariboo. Later that year he entered the employ of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1885, the year he married his cousin Elizabeth McGregor (d. 1887) of Montreal, he was promoted to manager for the Cariboo for the Hudson’s Bay Company, a position which he held until his paralysis in 1894. In 1887 he was appointed postmaster for Quesnel. In 1888 he married Scottish-born Margaret Pebbles, who recorded his cross-country journey in her book, Overland to Cariboo.

References:

  • McNaughton, Margaret [1856–1915]. Overland to Cariboo: An eventful journey of Canadian Pioneers to the gold fields of British Columbia in 1862. Toronto: Willliam Briggs, 1896. Internet Archive
  • Wikipedia. Margaret McNaughton
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. McNaughton, Mount
Also see:

Mount McCord

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Alberta-BC boundary. Mount
N of Miette Pass E of Salient Mountain
53.05 N 118.6667 W — Map 083E02 — Google — GeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1923
Official in BC – Canada
This mount appears on:
Boundary Commission Sheet 30 (surveyed in 1924)

William C. McCord was head of a trail-making party for the Canadian Pacific Railway survey in 1872. Chief Engineer Sandford Fleming [1827–1915] travelled over the Yellowhead Pass that year, and wrote “McCord had selected his camping ground judiciously.” McCord’s camp was located between the pass and Moose Lake.

The mountain was possibly named by the Alberta-British Columbia Boundary Commission in 1922.

References:

  • Report of the Canadian Pacific Railway Royal Commission. Volume III Conclusions. Ottawa, 1882 Government of Canada. Government of Canada
  • Fleming, Sandford [1827–1915]. “Memories of the Mountains: The Yellow Head Pass.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 1 (1907):11
  • Holmgren, Eric J., and Holmgren, Patricia M. Over 2,000 place names of Alberta. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Modern Press, 1973. Internet Archive