Category Archives: Place

Dome Mountain

British Columbia. Mountain
W side of Fraser River above Dome Creek
53.6186 N 121.0244 W — Map 093H11 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1970
Official in BCCanada

Presumably named for its shape, and named before 1919 if “Dome Creek” was derived from the mountain. The watercourse appears on the 1919 Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune but not the mountain or the community.

Dome Creek (community)

British Columbia. Community: Fraser River drainage
W side Fraser River between Crescent Spur and Penny
53.75 N 121.0333 W — Map 93H/11 — GoogleGeoHack
Name officially adopted in 1982
Official in BCTopo map from Canadian Geographical Names
146 miles west of the Yellowhead Pass on the Canadian National Railway
Mile 56 in Fraser Subdivision (McBride to Prince George as of 1977)
This community appears on:
Pre-emptor’s map Fort George 3A 1923
Hunters for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Dome Creek, 1913.

Hunters for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at Dome Creek, 1913.


Surveyors camp at Dome Creek circa 1912 I.B. Guest photo. [Olson 2017 p. 105]

Surveyors camp at Dome Creek circa 1912 I.B. Guest photo. [Olson 2017 p. 105]

Named in association with Dome Mountain. The Dome Creek watercourse appears on the 1919 Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune Sheet but not the community.

Dome Creek was located 55 miles from McBride and may have reached a population peak of 2000 during construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway‘s “Second Crossing” bridge over the Fraser River just west of the community.

Dome Creek is situated between the Grand Canyon and Goat River, about roughly midway between Prince George and Tête Jaune Cache. The land is beautifully situated on the Fraser River, and commands a magnificent view. During the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, Dome Creek was referred to as Mile 142 to Mile 145, Mile 142 being the campsite and Mile 145, where the bridge crosses the Fraser River.

Fort George Herald, March 3rd , 1911: “Another Townsite: A section of land at the mouth of Dome Creek was sold in Vancouver recently to some well known local men who, we are informed, intend to townsite the property.

Fort George Herald, July 22, 1911: The primal necessity for the up-building of the future city of Dome Creek arrived here this week on the steamer B. X. In the shape of an engine for the sawmill that is to be installed there by the Northern Lumber Co. Dome Creek, when put on the market, will be a thriving burg in a hurry. The site is ideally situated in the heart of the timber country, 134 miles up-river from here.

Later issues of the same paper describe the mill as capable of a 35,000 board feet per day output, also a shingle mill and a sash and door factory “right in the choicest of the cedar timber belt.” The mill owner was W.F. Cooke, one of the principals involved in purchasing and developing the townsite.

Fort George Herald, May 1913; The Foley Welch and Stewart boats were launched this week at Dome Creek where they were wintered… and will commence distributing men and supplies in the camps.

— Quoted in Olson

Wrigley’s Directory for 1918:

DOME CREEK: a post office and lumbering settlement at Mile 1190 G.T.P. west at junction of Dome Creek and Fraser River, in Fort George Provincial Electoral District. Nearest station is Bend on the G.T.P. Ry. distant 2 miles, and nearest telegraph G.T.P. at McBride, 55 miles, with local telephones. Population 250. Local resources: Lumbering and homesteading.

Albrecht A ranching
Attoff D mixed farming
Benson O ranching
Brennan Jack ranching
Casler F ranching
Cattle Mrs J W ranching
Conture F ranching
Dayton D ranching
Dayton M ranching
Dome Creek Lumber Co. Ltd. Chas. Neilson, Pres.; A. M. Neilson, Sec’y-treas. Mfrs. Fir and Pine Lumber.
Dufour Jos farming
Gale E T ranching
Hooker ranching
Jensen E W ranching
Johnson Oscar ranching
Johnson Richard D ranching
Kendall Jas O manager Upper Fraser Lumber Co Ltd
Langton F ranching
Logan George ranching
MacNeill Jas A mixed farming
McCIarty Archie ranching and logger
Mainwarning Ed ranching
Neilson A M manager Dome Creek Lumber Co Ltd
Schiescer Jacob ranching
Shernie A ranching
Smith Mrs Lottia ranching
Upper Fraser Lumber Co Ltd J O Kendall mgr mfrs fir & cedar lumber
Webber E L accountant
Westerway & Waldron shingle mill
Wylie R J ranching

The 1922 Wrigley’s lists:

Albright A ranching
Atoff David farming
Benson O ranching
Blaikie Chas mgr Dome Creek Lbr Co Ltd
Brennan Jack E ranching
Brown Sidney D saw-filer
Campbeil Geo teamster
Campbell Jas laborer
Carter F A ranching
Conway J Finlay edgerman
Crassweller Harold J laborer
Dayton Martin prospector
Dome Creek Farmers’ Inst E L Gale sec
Dufour Jos farming
Edward J C ranching
Gale E L ranching and sec Dome Creek Farmers’ Inst
Gordon Wm G R lumberman
Gordy W ranching
Green Percival A bookkeeper
Hooker J B ranching
Jensen E trapper rancher
Jensen E W trapper
Johnson Oscar ranching
Johnson Richard D ranching
Langton F ranching
McClarty Archie farming
McDowell Reginald H scaler
MacNeill Jas A mixed farming
Miller F ranching
Miller Henry farming
Nason Ithiel B laborer
Peterson C W ranching
Reade Wm farming
Robinson Harry sawmill man
Ryan Fred laborer
Schlesser Jacob ranching
Sims Jos W farming
Stewart A laborer
Stewart James ranching pool general store and PM
Strong Leslie H engineer
Thrasher A timekeeper
Tyhunt R I mgr Upper Fraser Lumber Co Ltd
Upper Fraser Lumber Co Ltd R I Tyhunt mgr
Waddell Jas H laborer
Walsh Patrick J engineer
Westerlund H laborer
Wilde Geo H P emp GTP
Wylie R J ranching

References:

  • Wrigley Directories, Limited. Wrigley’s British Columbia Directory. Vancouver: 1918. Internet Archive
  • Wrigley Directories, Limited. Wrigley’s British Columbia Directory. Vancouver: 1922. Toronto Public Library
  • Olson, Raymond W. Ghost Towns on the East Line. Prince George, B.C.: Raymond W. Olson, 2017
Also see:

Dennison Pit

British Columbia. Gravel pit
S of Highway 16 on Shale Hill near Mount Robson viewpoint
53.0299 N 119.2116 W GoogleGeoHack
Not currently an official name.

British-born George Middleton Dennison [d. 1943] and Flora Elizabeth Dennison , née MacLaurin [d.1951], ran stopping places for teamsters hauling freight for the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and Canadian Northern Railway. They settled in the Mount Robson area around 1910, and were granted a homestead in 1913. With his nephew Harold Britton [d. 1943], George ran a guide and outfitting business until the 1940s. He occasionally worked for guide Jack Brewster out of Jasper.

George Dennison was a major in the British calvary during the Boer War. He was presented to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during the royal stop at Mount Robson in 1939. George died in 1943 when he was hit by a train while on guard duty at the Japanese internment camp. He is buried at Mount Robson. Florence died in 1951 at Surrey, British Columbia.

The original automobile road from Tête Jaune Cache to Jasper followed the old railway tote road as far as Moose Lake, and then followed the abandoned Canadian Northern Railway grade to Jasper. According to Tom Carr, “There were two hills between Mount Robson and the Pass that took some doing to get up in any kind of adverse weather, because of the steep grade, crooked road, and dirt base. The first hill was directly in front of Dennison’s property. Because of the trouble it caused travelers by car, it warranted a name other than *&!%$!@. More politely it became known as Dennison Hill.” When the Yellowhead Highway was being built a gravel pit was opened on the top of Dennison hill.

References:

  • Wheeler, Marilyn [1932–2016]. The Robson Valley Story. McBride, B.C.: Robson Valley Story Group, 1979
  • Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984
  • Jeck, Lloyd. “Dennison & Brittain 1927. Part 1.” Rocky Mountain Goat, July 31 (2023). Rocky Mountain Goat

Deadmans Island

Feature type: island
Province: British Columbia
Location: Fraser River downstream from Tête Jaune

In September 1911, as construction of the railroad’s tote road approached Tête Jaune Cache, two young American adventurers, A. C. Jennison and D.C. Adams, freighted a canoe through the Yellowhead Pass to Resplendent. They canoed down the Fraser River until they reached the box canyon above Tête Jaune Cache, where their canoe capsized in an eddy and they both drowned. Weeks later their bodies were found, one of them at the point of this island a few miles below the Cache.

References:

  • MacGregor, James Grierson, 1905-1989. Overland by the Yellowhead. Saskatoon: Western Producer, 1974

Dawson Road

British Columbia. Road
Intersects Highway 16 E of Dunster
Roads are not in the official geographical names databases

Herbert C. (1892–1958) and Ethel G. (1896–1981) Dawson moved to a homestead between Dunster and Shere in the 1930s, after a spell of dry years in Saskatchewan. Herb worked on the railroad, homesteaded, and farmed. They raised six children, their youngest born at Lucerne (CNoR railway point) in 1924. During the 1930s Dawson took his team and wagon to Small Creek to work on the new highway being built from Tête Jaune Cache to Lamming Mills.

References:

  • Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984
  • McBride Cemetary. Grave markers. 2000 Roots and Dirt. Roots and Dirt

Dawson Creek

British Columbia. Creek: Columbia River drainage
Flows W into Canoe Reach of Kinbasket Lake
52.2669 N 118.4944 W — Map 083D07 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1895
Name officially adopted in 1974
Official in BCCanada
Dawson in 1885

Dawson in 1885
Wikipedia

Adopted in 1954 on Columbia River Basin manuscript 75 as labelled on 1895 map of British Columbia; not “Boulder Creek” as labelled on 1911 map of Kootenay District, flowing into Canoe River.

Coordinates of mouth altered and description changed in 1974, following creation of reservoir behind Mica Dam; now flows west into Canoe Reach, Kinbasket Lake.

Presumably refers to George Mercer Dawson [1849–1901], given the early use of the name.

Dawson was a Canadian geologist and surveyor who performed many early explorations in western North America and compiled numerous records of the native peoples, including the Shuswap who were inhabitants of this area.

The Kamloops Indians affirm, that the very highest mountain they know is on the north side of the valley at Tête Jaune Câche, about ten miles from the valley. This is named Yuh-hai-has’-kun, from the appearance of a spiral road running up it. No one has ever been known to reach the top, though a former chief of Tsuk-tsuk-kwälk’, on the North Thompson, was near the top once when hunting goats. When he realized how high he had climbed he became frightened and returned.

Notes on the Shuswap People of British Columbia, 1891

Dawson was director of the Geological Survey of Canada from 1895 until his death in 1901.

References:

  • Tolmie, William Fraser [1812–1886], and Dawson, George Mercer [1849–1901]. Comparative Vocabularies of the Indian Tribes of British Columbia, with a Map Illustrating Distribution. Ottawa: Geological and Natural History Survey of Canada, 1884. Toronto Public Library
  • Dawson, George Mercer [1849–1901]. “Notes on the Shuswap people of British Columbia.” Transactions of the Royal Society Canada, Section 2 (1891). University of British Columbia
  • McConnell, Richard George [1857–1942], and Dawson, George Mercer [1849–1901]. Report on an exploration of the Finlay and Omenica rivers. Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada, 1896. University of British Columbia Library
  • British Columbia Geographical Names. Dawson Creek

Davison Creek

British Columbia. Unofficial name: Fraser River drainage
Flows into Fraser near Croydon
53.0667 N 119.7167 W GoogleGeoHack
Not currently an official name.

Location approximate.

Leander (died 1925) and Edith (died 1924) Davison and four children moved to North Croydon in 1923. Leander grew up in Nova Scotia, and homesteaded in Alberta after 1900. He married Edith in 1910. When they moved to Croydon, they brought farm machinery, horses, and a cow down the river on a scow. The year after their arrival Edith died during childbirth. Newborn Archie was raised by Elizabeth and Tom McCallum. The next summer Leander died after a fall on a pitchfork. The other four children were raised by Edith’s parents, the Watsons, in Croydon.

References:

  • Haralson, Doris Neely. Northland Echoes. Yarrow, B.C.: Published by the author, Box 31, 1981
  • Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984

David Glacier

British Columbia. Glacier: Fraser River drainage
Premier Range
52.7417 N 119.7667 W — Map 83D/12 — GoogleGeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1925
Name officially adopted in 1962
Official in BCCanada
This glacier appears on:
W. A. D. Munday’s map Cariboos 1925

Named in 1924 by climbing party of Allen Carpé [1894–1932] and Rollin Thomas Chamberlin [1881–1948], in association with the nearby mountain and pass that they proposed be named Mount David Thompson and David Pass, in the mistaken belief that the pass was the true source of the North Thompson River.

References:

  • Carpé, Allen [1894–1932]. “Climbs in Cariboo Mts. and Northern Gold Range, Interior Ranges of British Columbia.” Alpine Journal, Vol. 37 (1925):63
  • Munday, Walter Alfred Don [1890–1950]. “In the Cariboo Range – Mt. David Thompson.” Canadian Alpine Journal, Vol. 15 (1925):130-136

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