BEND

BEND
Is an abandoned community and station on the Canadian National Railway, located on the Fraser River, 110 kilometers east of Prince George and just west of Dome Creek. During its prime, Bend was mostly are reliable on the forest industry and in fact, a sawmill was built just after World War One (WWI). During the 1930s, a post office and a school were also operational here. Today, Bend is basically an abandoned community although residents in nearby Dome Creek travel and work in Prince George. Bend is named after the Canadian National Railway’s 90-degree turn near here.

PORT ALICE

PORT ALICE

Is a small village, located at the head of Neroutsos Inlet, near Quatsino Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island near Port McNeill. The community was built in 1918 during construction of a large pulp mill owned by the Whalen Pulp and Paper Company and is considered one of the British Columbia’s instantaneous towns after it replaced a original townsite that was located just to the north. Port Alice is named after Alice Whalen, whose father founded the company that owned and operated the mill. In 2007, the community lost its pulp mill due to the infestation of interior forests from the Mountain Pine Beetle. However, it is not known when or if the town will ever survive again as a town. Ironically, Port Alice bears a town to that of Port Annie, a fictional town in the novel “The Resurrection of Joseph Bourne” by a Vancouver Island author by the name of Jack Hodgins. Port Alice relies on tourism industry as its main economic benefactors and is home many tourist attractions including that of a seawall that hugs the shores of Neroutsos Inlet as well as a scenic and beautiful 9-hole golf course which is located on a side of a mountain with tree-lined fairways and small greens and because of this it poses a challenge to golfers. Dale Walters, a boxer who won a bronze medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, was born in Port Alice.

PORT ALICE’S POPULATION: 821

PHOENIX

PHOENIX

Is a ghost town, located just 11 kilometers east of Greenwood in the Boundary Region of British Columbia. It was home to massive copper mine, which was built in 1891 by a prospector named Bob Denzler, and at 4,630 feet above sea level, Phoenix soon laid to claim as the “highest city in Canada”. In its heyday, Phoenix had a peak population of 4,000 residents, and had a collection of hotels, banks, its own city hall, newspaper office, telephone services, hospital, and even had a ballroom. Phoenix even had its own hockey team, which won the provincial hockey championship in 1911, but failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup, when it was already too late to ask to qualify for the event. The Copper Mine had its own tramline that shipped ore from the mine to the nearby Granby Smelter outside of Grand Forks through 2 competing railways; the Canadian Pacific and the Great Northern Railways and produced well over 13,000,000 tonnes of ore. The quality of copper ore reserves deteriorated just before the start of the First World War (WWI), but continued to operate because of high demand of copper during the war. However, in 1919 it closed down for good due to dropping and dwindling copper prices and that the Granby Smelting and Smelting shifted its focus of copper on its Anyox Mine in Northern British Columbia just south of Stewart. After its declaration as a ghost town all of the buildings including several churches, hospital and other buildings were moved to other communities such as Grand Forks and Greenwood. Phoenix operated an open pit mine during the 1950s until 1978, until it was abandoned and pretty much all of the other historic buildings were either destroyed or bulldozed. Phoenix is home to small ski resort found nearby and has a total of 12 different runs for beginners and expert skiers.

MCLURE

MCLURE

Is a small and unincorporated hamlet, located on the Canadian National Railway, 44 kilometers north of Kamloops on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #5), and just south of Barriere. McLure’s economy is based on logging, tourism, and ranching. Formally known as Fishtrap, it is named after a settler by the name of John McLure (1849-1933), who settled in the area in 1906.  

MCLURE'S POPULATION: 273

HARRISON HOT SPRINGS

HARRISON HOT SPRINGS

Is a waterfront community situated at the south end of Harrison Lake about 100 kilometers east of Vancouver and just a few minutes north of Agassiz on Highway #9. The community has been a popular year-round resort since 1886. The town’s nearby hot springs, which is mineral-rich water that is heated to a temperature of 74 degrees Celsius (165 degrees Fahrenheit), pumped from its source and cooled to a relaxing 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit), and pumped into the town’s main public pool. It is believed that the hot springs are healthful and therapeutic for arthritis and rheumatism sufferers. The community’s first hotel; the St. Alice also opened in 1886. Harrison Hot Springs is named after Benjamin Harrison, a Hudson’s Bay company deputy-governor official. Not only does the hot springs attract visitors from all over the world, so does an annual sandcastle building competition that takes place every summer on the shores of Harrison Lake. Northwest of here, is Sasquatch Provincial Park, named for a famous hairy, unshaven beast that supposedly inhabits the area. It is unlikely but if you do see the Sasquatch in the forested areas of the park, it is technically wise to call the local authorities, you do however have a greater chance of seeing the odd deer or beaver.  

HARRISON HOT SPRINGS' POPULATION: 1,573

BELLA COOLA

BELLA COOLA
Is a small community located at the head of north Bentinck Arm, an extension of Burke Channel at the mouth of Bella Coola river about 400 kilometers north of Vancouver on British Columbia’s remote central coast. Even though the last cannery was shut down in the 1930s, the community still remains very active with fishing. Bella Coola was linked with Williams Lake by land in 1953 with the completion of Highway #20 (Chilcotin Highway). Logging and forestry have also been key factors in Bella Coola’s economy. The mid-coast Forest District has an office located in Bella Coola. Before Highway #20 was put in place here in 1953, Bella Coola was accessible only by air and water making Bella Coola self-sustaining in its early history. Bella Coola is named after inhabitants of the people of the Nuxalk (formerly known as Bella Coola) Nation.

BELLA COOLA’S POPULATION: 873

TETE JAUNE CACHE

TETE JAUNE CACHE
Is a tiny settlement located on the Fraser River at the junction of Highways #5 and #16, which are both the Yellowhead in the scenic Robson Valley, 241 kilometers east of Prince George and 332 kilometers northeast of Kamloops. Tete Jaune Cache was named after a fur trader, by the name of Pierre Hastination, also a Hudson’s Bay Company guide in the early 1800s, He was nicknamed “Tete Jaune” because of his blonde hair (Tete Jaune is French for “yellow head”) and was allegedly known to have cached a fortune in furs nearby. Tete Jaune Cache prospered during construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1911 and had a booming population of 3,000 as paddleboat arrived up the Fraser River. Tete Jaune Cache was almost abandoned after the railway was constructed. Today, the hamlet is a logging and tourism community, especially with Mount Robson nearby.

TETE JAUNE CACHE'S POPULATION: ABOUT 500

FRUITVALE

FRUITVALE

Is a small residential community, 14 kilometers west of Trail, in the west Kootenay Region of British Columbia along Highway #3B.

Fruitvale began as a stop on the Great Northern Railway, and the first settlers that arrived in the area, called the community Beaver Siding, due to its location in the Beaver Valley and the fact that large amounts of beavers that live in the surrounding area and valley. The earliest residents recall seeing beavers building productive dams so much so, the damage they did building their dams was so severe, they caused Beaver Creek to overlow its banks and flood the road. Renamed in 1906 after a land agreement with a company by the name of Fruitvale Limited, renamed the town Fruitvale as somewhat of a advertising scheme of the company to market the town as the best fruit-growing area in the Kootenays.

Incorporated as a village in 1952, it is one of only a handful of British Columbia communities that is actually classified as a village even though it has a population of more than 2,000 people and is also home to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s (KIJHL) Beaver Valley Nitehawks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Fruitvale’s population: 2,117

Fruitvale's welcome sign

ALDERMERE

ALDERMERE

Is a ghost town located on the foothills just above the modern community of Telkwa, 13 kilometers southeast of Smithers and off of the Yellowhead Highway. It was originally a farming community that was originally founded around 1904 and had several buildings including one hotel, a bank, and several stores. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway considered putting a division point in the community but instead settled on Smithers. Aldermere is known notoriously for being Bulkley Valley’s earliest non-aboriginal settlement. Aldermere’s population began to decline, and because of this, most residents decided to move away to the new community of Telkwa, 1 kilometer west at the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa Rivers. After the First World War (WWI) ended and prior to the 1920s, Aldermere disappeared and suddenly became a residential neighborhood of Telkwa. 

CHASE

CHASE

Is a small town, located at the west end of Shuswap Lake off of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway #1), east of Kamloops. Chase was developed and built in 1908 when the Adams River Lumber Company, built at one time, the largest sawmill in the interior. The mill was closed in 1925, dealing the community a major shock. Chase is named after Whitfield Chase and incorporated in 1969 as a village. After the incorporation the village began being a hotspot for tourism as well as a retirement community for retirees who want to live the rest of their lives by the lake. Chase has also benefited from the construction of the Coquihalla Highway (Highway #5) about 60 kilometers east of here. Logging, local businesses and recreational activities; like house boating on Shuswap Lake contribute to the local economy.

CHASE’S POPULATION: 2,409

SEABIRD ISLAND

SEABIRD ISLAND

Is a small Sto:lo First Nations settlement, located halfway between Agassiz and Hope and also in the Fraser River just off of the Lougheed Highway (Highway #7). Seabird Island has been a community of the Sto:lo First Nation since 1879 and has been home to their annual event; the Earth voice Festival, which became a replacement for the Voices for the Wilderness Festival in the Stein Valley near Lytton on Highway #12. Seabird Island’s name is referred from the Paddlewheel steamboat “sea bird” which ran ground here back on June 24th of 1858.

SEABIRD ISLAND’S POPULATION: 548

JAFFRAY

JAFFRAY

Is a small village located 35 kilometers southeast of Cranbrook on the Canadian Pacific Railway in an area that is spread to almost 45 square kilometers of rural land. Originally a railway siding and train water stop, Jaffray was first settled in 1900 when a resident by the name of Frank Desrosier purchased land of where Jaffray is presently located at. In the early 1900s, Jaffray was built around two sawmills that were built by Robert Jaffray (of whom the town is believed to get its name from) and two of his brothers that came from the Alberta town of Lacombe. It was also during this time that some form of railway logging took place in the area and at one time, it had several hotels, as well as numerous general stores. The forest industry is the main economy in Jaffray, even though the mills are no longer around. Tourism and the cattle industry also play an important part in Jaffray. In Jaffray’s early days as a community, mining was also important. Like many southeastern British Columbia communities like that of nearby Elko and Sparwood, Jaffray is also straddled at the Mountain Time Zone and is 1 hour ahead of the rest of the western portion of British Columbia. Dean Brody, a country music singer, who released his debut album in the spring of 2009, is originally from Jaffray. Most of the residents who live here commute to work in at either Cranbrook or at a sawmill at the community of Wardner about 10 kilometers from here off of Highway #3.

JAFFRAY’S POPULATION: 453

SAVONA

SAVONA
Is a unincorporated lakeside village located approximately halfway between Kamloops and Cache Creek along the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway #1). Just like its neighbors to the west and east, Savona enjoys Semi-arid climate and very mild and wet winter with average temperatures that exceed 35 degrees Celsius and 10 degrees Celsius during the summer and winter months respectively. The community was originally known as Savona’s Ferry and was originally located on the northern shore of Kamloops Lake where it was at the end of stagecoach line from Cache Creek on the Cariboo Wagon Road and it was at this time that passengers heading up to Kamloops and point east, were forced to rely on steamships to get across Kamloops Lake to get to these destinations until a man named Francis Savona (Francois Saveneux, in French), who the town is supposedly named after, operated a ferry across the lake. The highway originally went through the town, but during the 1960s and during construction of the Trans-Canada Highway, Savona is now bypassed entirely. The community is served by many industries including cattle ranching, forestry, and logging, with a large specialty plywood sawmill run by Ainsworth Lumber Company, that is considered to be one of British Columbia’s largest plywood mills. Because of its small population many retirees choose Savona has a haven, who want to retire and spend the rest of their lives close to a lake.

SAVONA’S POPULATION: 581

HOPE

HOPE

IS a small town located at the junction of Highways #1, #3, #5, and #7 (Trans-Canada; Crowsnest, Coquihalla/Yellowhead, and Lougheed Highways, respectively). Hope also lies at the junction of the Coquihalla and Fraser Rivers. The town is said to be either at the gateway of the Interior and Lower Mainland (It depends which destination you are heading to). Earlier known as Fort Hope that was built by the Hudson’s Bay Company as a trading post in 1848-1849 near Ts’qo:ls, an old and ancient Sto:lo First Nations village, its history dates back to the 1858 gold rush when it became a stop for miners heading up the Fraser River on the Cariboo Wagon Road to Barkerville and was named Hope due to the referral of Hudson’s Bay Company’s hopefulness that the fort would form and share a portion of an all-British trade-in and supply direction towards the Interior. Hope today is very scenic and spectacular with mountains and views overlooking the community. Like a major metropolitan, Hope offers many amenities with Fast-Food restaurants and gas stations to the most dreary and drowsy driver. Popular attractions in Hope and nearby include the Hope museum, The historic Christ Anglican Church (built in 1859 and is British Columbia’s oldest church still on its original site), Memorial Park, the Hope Arts Gallery, Coquihalla Canyon Park, Yale Heritage Site, and the Hope Slide.

HOPE’S POPULATION: 6,185

HUTTON MILLS

HUTTON MILLS
Is an abandoned sawmill community, 75 kilometers east of Prince George on the Fraser River. Hutton Mills was established as a tie camp in 1912 during the building of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. United Grain Growers were one of the several companies that opened a sawmill in Hutton Mills. Hutton Mills had a hospital and a brief population of almost 1,000 by the 1920s. During the Second World War (WWII), Hutton Mills produced birch plywood, a type of wood used in aircraft construction. The last mill in Hutton Mills closed in the 1950s, causing Hutton Mills to be a ghost town.

CANYON CITY

CANYON CITY
Is a Nisga’a village in the Nass River Valley, just north of Terrace along 158-kilometer long Highway #113 (Nisga’a Highway). Canyon City is the smallest of the 4 Nisga’a villages that consist of Canyon City (Gitwinksihlkw), New Aiyansh (Gitlakdamix), Gingolx (Kincolith), and Greenville (Laxqalts’ap). It is known by the Nisga’a people as Gitwinksihlkw (pronounced git-win-silk), which in turn is named after “place of the lizards” that were commonplace in this area before the Tseax Cone erupted and buried the villages of Wii Lax K’abit and Lax Ksiluux in the mid-1700s. It is named by its English term for its location around a canyon in the vicinity of the area. Canyon City is unincorporated and only relies on logging and commercial fishing as its main mainstays of its economy. A road was linked to the outside world from here in 1995.

CANYON CITY’S POPULATION: 201

BURNS LAKE

BURNS LAKE


Is a small rural village, located near the geographical center of British Columbia and on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #16). Burns Lake was settled in the 1860s during construction of now-abandoned Collins Overland Telegraph line to Alaska, but wasn’t until 1914 and before the First World War (WWI), when the Grand Pacific Railway was constructed which gave the town its first population boom. The town of Burns Lake, serves a hub of the local forestry and logging industries and features five pubs, fine restaurants, a couple of realtors, stores and services, as well as a library and a hospital. Many fisherman are attracted to the community because it is considered to be the main gateway to many lakes including Francois, Tchesinkut (pronounced to-sink-it), Ootsa, and Decker Lakes, just to name a few in addition to the northern approach to Tweedsmuir Provincial Park which itself is British Columbia’s largest provincial park. Burns Lake was incorporated as a village in 1923 and is British Columbia’s largest village, even though it qualifies for town status under the Local Governments Act and there are many theories on how Burns Lake takes its name however legend has it that is that it either came from a telegraph line surveyor or a forest fire from the Borland Expedition era when members passed through here to survey a route for the overland telegraph, swept through the area and to whom many people refer the community as Burnt Lake. One key attraction in Burns Lake is the Anglican Church of St. John, first opened in 1923 and was made into a heritage building in 2002, this church was built by reverend J.H. Kerr on a pay-as-you-go basis, the first of its kind in British Columbia.

BURNS LAKE'S POPULATION: 2,726

VANDERHOOF

VANDERHOOF

Is a small town situated on the geographic center of British Columbia and in the Nechako Valley, Vanderhoof is a district municipality and is named after Herbert Vanderhoof, a successful Chicago, Illinois promoter and supporter, who conducted a campaign to draw settlers to Western Canada. Vanderhoof was laid out as a townsite before World War One (WWI), when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began track through Vanderhoof west to Prince Rupert. In 1926, almost a decade after World War One (WWI) was over; Vanderhoof became an incorporated as a village. During the 1950s, construction of the Kenney Dam, a power-producing reservoir, which provides power to the Alcan smelter in Kitimat was built, and provided major economic and employable boost to the community of Vanderhoof. The other major economies include forestry and agriculture. Vanderhoof is home to an air show held here every summer, and is considered one of the largest camp-in air shows in North America in addition to attracting 25,000 spectators a year. The College of New Caledonia boasts a satellite campus in Vanderhoof and provides diploma programs for students. Highway #27 is a medium-traveled highway that goes from 7 kilometers west of Vanderhoof to the small town of Fort St. James, 57 kilometers to the north.

VANDERHOOF’S POPULATION: 4,401

HIXON

HIXON

Is a settlement located on Highway #97, 55 kilometers south of Prince George, in the North Cariboo. There are a number of stores and motels in Hixon as well as a pub and a gas station. Many residents work at a nearby sawmill in the tiny community of Strathnaver, about 20 kilometers south. Horse raising, logging, and ranching, contribute to Hixon’s economy. The settlement’s name refers to Joseph Foster Hixon, who found gold in the area in 1866. Hixon is considered the halfway point on the stretch of Highway #97 between the major cities of Quesnel and Prince George.

HIXON’S POPULATION: 591

SQUAMISH

SQUAMISH

Is a large-sized district municipality located on the north end of Howe Sound and the Sea-To-Sky Highway (Highway #99). During the First World War (WWI), hop farming became important even before the Canadian National Railway (formally the British Columbia Railway) line was constructed and built. Squamish is outdoor enthusiasts paradise with several activities to do including rock climbing the Stawamus Chief, windsurfing at Shannon Falls provincial park, bird watching in Brackendale, which is an outskirt and residential suburb of Squamish. About a third of Squamish’s residents work in either Vancouver or Whistler, about 45 minutes south and north respectively. There are 2 major post-secondary institutions in the city including that of Capilano College, a post-secondary college that offers degree-granting program and Quest University, which is Canada’s first privately-owned, non-profit secular university opened in September 2007. Squamish became incorporated first as a village in 1948, and then again as a district municipality in 1964. Squamish is one of only a handful of communities with a population more than 10,000 people that is actually considered a district municipality. The name Squamish is taken from local First Nations and does not even have a known meaning.

SQUAMISH'S POPULATION: 13,994

BLUE RIVER

BLUE RIVER
Is a community situated on the north Thompson River, 230 kilometers north of Kamloops on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #5) just outside of the east entrance to Wells Gray Provincial Park. A heli-skiing operation has attracted many visitors from around the world to Blue River which is named after the color of the surrounding hillside. The community’s economy relies on logging and tourism. Lake Eleanor, near downtown offers good swimming and a really good beach. Blue River used to be a railway division point, but does have services for passing motorists. The Cariboo Mountains are just to the north of Blue River.

BLUE RIVER’S POPULATION: 283

ENGEN

ENGEN

Is a tiny community, 10 kilometers west of Vanderhoof and approximately 110 kilometers west of Prince George on the Canadian National Railway Line as well as the Highway #16 (Yellowhead Highway). In 1940 a local resident and entrepreneur by the name of Dave Martens, founded the Plateau Sawmill and makes about 350 million board foot a year, making it one of British Columbia’s largest producers of dimension lumber. The mill has since been owned by the Slocan Forest Products Limited. In addition to the forest industry, Engen also relies on the farming and the ranching industry to contribute to its economy. Engen is unincorporated and is named after Fred Engen who was a pioneer as well as one of its first settlers.

ENGEN’S POPULATION: 71

PORT COQUITLAM

PORT COQUITLAM

Is a huge suburb of Vancouver, located on the north side of the Fraser River and between the rivers of Pitt and Coquitlam, about 30 kilometers east of Vancouver. Thousands of years before white settlement, Port Coquitlam was first inhabited by the Coast Salish people including the Kwikwetl’em people. Farming and agriculture began near the Pitt River in 1853 when Alexander McLean and his family, who coincidently were the first Europeans settlers in the area. Port Coquitlam was almost chosen as the capital of Mainland British Columbia, instead of New Westminster in 1859 because of the easily defensible statue of ground at Mary Hill. In 1886, The Canadian Pacific Railway built a branch of rail line from its main line to New Westminster and it grew up at an area known as Westminster Junction. The Canadian pacific Railway moved its freight operations from Vancouver to what’s is now known today as Port Coquitlam at the banks of the Fraser River, which was renamed in 1913 and derives from an aboriginal word meaning “little red salmon”. The railway (which as a huge rail yard in the central part of the city), continues to drive the city’s economy along with the forest industry and agriculture. Following the Second World War (WWII), Port Coquitlam’s population grew rapidly and by the 1960s, it actually doubled during the 1990s, at a rate of 9.8%. Port Coquitlam was incorporated as a city on March 7, 1913 and is also mostly a residential suburb of Vancouver.

PORT COQUITLAM’S POPULATION: 55,375

CASSIAR

CASSIAR
Is a ghost town located in the Cassiar Mountains of northwestern British Columbia. It was a small, one-industry, company-owned mining town that was home to a asbestos mine, that was unexpectedly forced to close in March of 1992 after 40 years of operation, taking the entire town of Cassiar with it. The closure was the reason of diminished demand of asbestos and expensive complications from converting from an open-pit mine to an underground mine. Before its downfall, the community of Cassiar was once home to 1,500 people and had a school, a bank, supermarket, grocery store, liquor store, 2 churches, a Radio Shack electronics store, a small hospital, hockey arena, a theatre, a swimming pool, and a recreational center. Today, the streets are bare and empty and flowers are blooming of where the buildings once stood. The houses were auctioned off, bulldozed or burned to the ground. To approach Cassiar, hang a left off of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Highway #37) and head 16 kilometers down Cassiar Spur Road and past a few old cabins, do not expect any services. The meaning of Cassiar comes from the Kaska Indian Word for McDame Creek (a tributary of Dease River).

FERGUSON

FERGUSON
Is a ghost town in the Upper Arrow Lake area, southeast of Revelstoke off of Highway #31. The community was one of several mining communities that boomed during the 1890s. Ferguson was a service and a major contribution center for the mining industry, high up in the mountainside in the Lardeau Valley area, just north of Trout Lake City. When mining died during the early 1900s and before the First World War (WWI), several of Ferguson’s residents moved away and Ferguson was abandoned. All of what is left of Ferguson today is a few relics of old buildings and personal belongings of yesteryear.

FRASER LAKE

FRASER LAKE
Is s small lakeside town located between the small northwestern communities of Vanderhoof and Burns Lake and about 160 kilometers west of Prince George along Highway #16 (Yellowhead Highway). Fraser Lake began in 1914, with construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and grew as a sawmill town. In 1965, a large molybdenum mine south of the nearby town of Endako and helped the town prosper and Fraser Lake became the home to several of the mine’s employees. The town’s major employer is small sawmilling at the settlement of Lejac. Fraser Lake was incorporated as a village on September 27, 1966 and is named after famous explorer Simon Fraser. There are several things to do in Fraser Lake including hunting, fishing and hiking. For a good view of Fraser Lake, hike up Mouse Mountain; a large foothill that overlooks the community just to the east. Fraser Lake is known as the “White Swan Capital of the World”.

FRASER LAKE’S POPULATION: 1,113