Feature type: road
Province: British Columbia
Location: Forks S off Highway 16 E of Dunster
Latitude: 53.1239 N
Longitude: 119.7672 W
Google Maps
Vern (born 1929) and Mona (born 1929) Grasdal purchased property near Dunster in 1970. In 1975 they moved from Edmonton to their property, where they operated a dairy farm.
Named in association with Grant Brook.
Rev. G. M. Grant, Principal of Queen’s College, Kingston
Wikipedia
George Monro Grant [1835–1902] was secretary to Sandford Fleming [1827–1915] during the engineer’s survey of the route for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1872. Born in Nova Scotia, Grant was ordained as a minister in the Church of Scotland in 1860, and was made moderator of the Presbyterian Church in 1899. He was a charter member of the Royal Society of Canada, founded in 1882, and was president of that society in 1901.
When British Columbia entered the Dominion of Canada in 1871, preliminary surveys for the promised transcontinental railroad began from east and west. After reading the preliminary reports, chief engineer Fleming decided to travel overland to see the main features of the country with his own eyes. He took along his lifelong friend George Munro Grant. During this journey, which took him on horseback across the prairies and over the Rocky Mountains by way of Yellowhead Pass, Grant kept a diary, which he published as Ocean to Ocean (London, 1873). He does not make mention of a brook being named in his honour.
Our three ranges are the Rocky Mountains proper; the Selkirk and Gold, which may be considered one and the coast range or Cascades. The passage from the east through the first range, is up the valley of the Athabasca and the Myette, and we have seen how easy it is, especially for a Railway. The average height of the mountains above the sea, is nine thousand feet but the Yellow Head Pass is only three thousand seven hundred feet. On each side of the valley are mountains that act as natural snow-sheds.
The next question is, are there similar valleys and passes through the other two ranges ? Yes, but not so direct and broad, and there are many obstacles to be overcome. How to get through the second range has always been considered the great difficulty.
First, we have to get to it from Yellow Head Pass. This is done by following the Fraser, as we did to day to Moose Lake, and as we shall to-morrow, to Tête Jaune Cache. There we expect to see the Gold range stretching in unbroken line before us, forcing the Fraser far to the north, and us somewhat to the south east and then the south. Oh for a direct cut through to the Cariboo gold fields like that which the Athabasca cleaves the Rocky Mountains with !
— Grant (p. 253), September 17, 1872
“Grant Brook” appears on McEvoy’s 1900 map of Yellowhead Pass. From his report, “Fourteen miles from the pass, a large stream called Grant Brook flows in from the north. It is about fifty feet wide and very swift.”
Near the Grand Forks of the Fraser River. George Monro Grant, plate 37
Ocean to Ocean: Sandford Fleming’s Expedition through Canada in 1872
The Honourable Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
Photo: William James Topley, 1906
Wikipedia
Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier, part of the Premier Range, is the highest peak of the Cariboo Mountains (3580 m, 11,750 feet). Originally named “Mount Titan’” by American mountaineer Allen Carpé [1894–1932] in 1924, in 1929 it was officially renamed in the Premier commemorations to honour Wilfred Laurier [1841-1919], prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911.
Born at Saint-Lin, Canada East, Laurier was elected to the Québec legislature in 1871. In 1874, he was elected to the House of Commons, of which he was a member until his death. When the Liberal party won the 1896 election, Laurier became prime minister.
Laurier visited British Columbia in 1910. Learning that Laurier was in favour of larger reserves and recognition of aboriginal title, the chiefs of the Shuswap, Okanagan, and Thompson tribes presented him with a petition condemning BC land policies and game laws and rejecting BC’s takeover of their lands. Believing that the Queen’s laws would guarantee their rights, they requested treaties with the federal government.
The decision by Laurier’s government to expand the railway system by building two new railways, the Grand Trunk Pacific and the National Transcontinental, caused a serious rift within the party. The Liberal’s were defeated in the 1911 general elections.
The first ascent of Mount Sir Wilfrid Laurier was made in 1924 by Carpé, Rollin Thomas Chamberlin [1881–1948] , and A. L. (Pete) Withers , when the mountain was still known as “Mount Titan.”
Near the Grand Forks of the Fraser River. George Monro Grant, plate 37
Ocean to Ocean: Sandford Fleming’s Expedition through Canada in 1872
![R.E. Gosnell, Legislative Librarian [1894 to 1897]](/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/r-e-gosnell.jpg)
R.E. Gosnell, Legislative Librarian [1894 to 1897]
British Columbia Archives
Perhaps named after Robert Edward Gosnell [1860–1931], a historian and journalist. Born in Québec and educated in Ontario, he came to British Columbia as a newspaperman in 1888. He was the first librarian of the British Columbia legislative library (1893-98), editor of the Victoria Colonist, and the first provincial archivist (1908–1910). He was secretary to James Dunsmuir and succeeding premiers. In later years he was a freelance journalist. Gosnell was the author of several history books, including A History of British Columbia (1906) and co-authored Sir James Douglas (1908).
Settlement at Gosnell came with the construction of the Canadian Northern Railway in 1913. There was a Japanese internment camp here during World War II. The Gosnell post office operated from 1960 to 1964.
Feature type: road
Province: British Columbia
Location: Forks N off Hwy 16 W of Tête Jaune
Latitude: 52.9849
Longitude: 119.459
Donald Gordon arrived at Swift Creek (Valemount) in 1912. He and his wife Minnie opened the area’s first cafe, later enlarged into a hotel, in 1922. Donald and Minnie Gordon, “rancher and housekeeper,” appear on the 1937 Valemount voters’ list. The Gordons’ place was a favorite spot for parties. Minnie, who was part Indian, always had a pot of moose stew on the stove for visitors. If any old-timer had not been seen for a few days, Minnie would head out with her medicine bag on a mission of mercy. She was also a mid-wife. The Gordons moved to Kamloops and later New Westminster.
But was this road near McBride named for them?
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