British Columbia. River: Fraser River drainage
Flows SW into Fraser River, SE of McBride
53°15’00” N 120°04’00” W — Map 93H/8 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1912 (Walker)
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BC – Canada
Flows SW into Fraser River, SE of McBride
53°15’00” N 120°04’00” W — Map 93H/8 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1912 (Walker)
Name officially adopted in 1925
Official in BC – Canada
Albert W. Holmes (died 1920s) was the provincial forest ranger in McBride as early as 1915. Holmes, an American, later farmed in Dunster. He died, unmarried, in the Prince George hospital. The river was named by surveyor James A. Walker between 1912 and 1915. The local name of the river, “Beaver,” dates from before 1910.
Wrigley’s British Columbia Directory for 1918 lists “Holmes Albert W farming” for Dunster.
A youth named Allen Holmes appears in a photograph of the McBride Trading Company in the 1920s (Valley Museum & Archives Society 2003.26.19).
References:
- Washburn, Stanley [1878–1950]. Trails, trappers and tenderfeet in the new empire of Western Canada. London: A. Melrose, 1912. Hathi Trust
- Morkill, Dalby Brooks [1880–1955]. “Report on survey on the south fork of the Fraser River, between Horsey Creek and Holmes River. December 28, 1912.” Report of the Minister of Lands, (1913). Google Books
- Walker, James Alexander [1887–1959]. “South fork of Fraser River, vicinity of McBride. November 11, 1914.” Report of the Minister of Lands for the Province of British Columbia for the Year Ending 31st December 1914, (1915). Google Books
- Wrigley Directories, Limited. Wrigley’s British Columbia Directory. Vancouver: 1918. Internet Archive
- Valemount Historic Society. Yellowhead Pass and its People. Valemount, B.C.: 1984
- Akrigg, Helen B., and Akrigg, George Philip Vernon [1913–2001]. British Columbia Place Names. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1997, p.114. Internet Archive
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