DEROCHE

DEROCHE
Is a tiny settlement located on the northern side of the Fraser River, just 19 kilometers east of Mission in the Upper Fraser Valley. Named after Joseph Deroche (1824—1922) a truck driver, who helped haul supplies during the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s, Deroche was first known originally as Derocier. Deroche is also located adjacent to the eastern end of Nicomen Island and at the foot of Nicomen Mountain, which is located immediately across the Fraser River from Chilliwack Mountain. Nearby Nicomen Slough, is home to a winter gathering area for eagles, trumpeter swans, ducks and other waterfowl. In the community, there is a small store, and garage to serve travelers, as well as an elementary school.

DEROCHE’S POPULATION: 72

GROUNDBIRCH

GROUNDBIRCH
Is a small agriculture community that lays on the John Hart Highway (Highway #97) and the now-defunct British Columbia Rail line (BC Rail), 45 kilometers west of Dawson Creek in the Peace River region of British Columbia. Groundbirch only has a general store and a RV Park, but no longer has a wheat elevator to serve local farmers. Groundbirch was first settled in the early 1920s by Ivor Benterud and Ole Martinsen and was formerly known as Stewart Flats.

GROUNDBIRCH’S POPULATION:673

MISSION

MISSION
Is a large district municipality, located on the north side of the Fraser River and on the Lougheed Highway (Highway #7) about 70 kilometers east of Vancouver. Named after St. Mary’s Mission, once the largest and first mission in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1862 on the banks of Fraser River by oblate missionary Leon Fouquet. Operated from 1863 to 1984, the mission was the first school for aboriginals, and it had everything from a gristmill for local farmers and even had its own church. The mission was moved in 1885 further north uphill to make way for the Canadian Pacific Railway to lay and construct tracks. The building and constructing of the new site of the mission was a difficult chore that took over 2 years to complete, however it was eventually finally built in 1885. The remains, of the site, including its cement foundations are still seen today and or on display at the Fraser River Heritage Park, northeast of downtown, but most of the exterior of the building was razed and demolished in 1965 due to years of deterioration. It was 4 years prior students of the mission were moved next-door to a residential school when it became a federally-mandated residential school, where it continued to operate until 1984 making it one of the last residential schools to close in British Columbia. Nestled between the Coast Mountains in the north and the Fraser River in the south, Mission was also chosen as a site in 1954 by Benedictine monks for their new Monastic Retreat Center, the Westminster Abbey seminary of Christ the King, which is a remarkable church with a tower of 10 bells, and 64 stained-glass windows, the Abbey is located on a hillside above town and provides people who seek solitude, prayer and comfort. Once inhabited by the Sto:lo First Nations, Mission was an important stopping place and junction point for trappers, loggers and settlers where it remains to this very day. Economies in Mission which is known for its fertile soil and mild and pleasant climate year-round include dairy farming, agriculture, as well as logging. Many residents work in Vancouver as well as the surround area do so by commuting and using the West Coast Express, a public transit train which takes approximately 45 minutes to Vancouver. Mission was incorporated as a district on November 1969, after being previously and municipally known as a town, village and was even an original district in its early days and due to its massive increase in population and that many residential complexes are being developed over the past few decades, it has been rumored in the future that Mission will eventually be known officially as a city. Highway #11 is a highway that connects Mission and the Lougheed Highway and travels south via the Mission Bridge, 12 kilometers to Abbotsford and 5 more kilometers south towards the Canada/United States border crossing at the tiny Washington State hamlet of Sumas. The district is served by 2 main communities, Mission City (where most of the downtown is located in, as well as a historic post office that dates back to 1935), and Hatzic in addition to 4 smaller neighborhoods, Steelhead, Ruskin, Stave Falls and Silverdale. Mission is a proud sister city to that of Oyama, a town of about 20,000 residents, located in Shizuoka, a prefecture in Japan.


MISSION’S POPULATION: 30,519

BLAKEBURN

BLAKEBURN
Is ghost town, perched on Granite Creek, just north of Princeton. Blakeburn was a mining town that was established in 1911, by owners W.J. Blake Wilson and Pat Burns, who was a former Canadian senator and meat-packer for the P. Burns & Company Limited, a meat company. The mine was famous for its aerial tramway that carried coal to the railhead at the nearby community of Coalmont. The mine also had turbulent times particularly in August of 1930 when an explosion in the mine killed 45 men and is known as British Columbia’s worst mining disasters, a plaque in Coalmont tells this story. The mine closed in 1940 due to fluctuating and dwindling production and because many residents decided to move away to other mining communities near and far. In order to get into Blakeburn, travel along a Forest Service Road from Granite City, which is another ghost town in its own right, and you’ll find several buildings in ruins, including an old bathhouse, washhouse, school and even the old terminal that housed the tramway line, which is basically an old and large block of concrete that is still standing as of today.

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS
Is a small community, located in the Columbia Valley, 139 kilometers south of Golden along Highway #95 between the Columbia and Windermere Lakes. The community and its hot springs were first used by various First Nations groups, long before a settler by the name of George Geary became the first European to settle in the area in 1887. When Sam Brewer bought the place a few years later, Fairmont Hot Springs quickly became a rest spot for the stage coaches that transported people up and down the Columbia Valley. Tourist and other different varieties of traveler facilities were set up at the springs in 1909, 5 years before the First World War (WWI) started. Fairmont Hot Springs is not only known for its famous hot springs, but is known as a retirement and vacationer community because of its three golf courses used mainly for people from various nearby cities like Revelstoke, Cranbrook as well as major Alberta city of Calgary who want to take a nice relaxing vacation from the pressures of living in a city environment. The community is also home to a small airport facility that offers private and public jets including Boeing 737s. Fairmont Hot Springs has plans to develop condominiums, many residential subdivisions, and an Alpine Ski Village for a nearby ski hill in time before the end of 2009 as well as renovate and expand the nearby ski hill. Fairmont Hot Springs is unincorporated despite its notoriety as a tourism community and is named after a log house hotel located within a half mile from the hot springs’ source, that was built in the late 1920s.

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS’ POPULATION: 489

TELKWA

TELKWA

Is a small district municipality, located where the Telkwa and Bulkley Rivers meet, 15 kilometers south of Smithers on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #16). Telkwa was once a thriving town very rich in coalmine deposits, and even though these have since closed, there have been some rambling that they maybe opened in the future. The history of Telkwa dates back to the 1860s, when the Collins Overland Telegraph line was constructed to further north. Until World War 1 (WWI), Telkwa was the main commercial center for the entire the Bulkley Valley, which is when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was constructed which in turn, shifted growth and expansion north to Smithers. Telkwa has several historical sites including St. Stephen’s Anglican Church which was built in 1910 from wood donated from Telkwa’s first sawmill, and its bell tower and lich gate were added in 1921. The lich gate is significant because a coffin is placed there commemorating the first-ever burial service in the church’s history. Telkwa is an outdoor enthusiasts haven as there several parks in the vicinity of the town; Tyhee Provincial Park, just 5 minutes northeast of town, this scenic park offers swimming and hiking opportunities during the summer months and ice fishing on the lake and cross-country skiing during the cold, winter months. Another great thing about Telkwa is that there is a demolition derby and barbeque that happens here every Labor Day Weekend in Telkwa well as Winterfest, a winter celebration that is home to dogsled races, wagon rides, snow sculptures, cross-country skiing, candlelight skiing, and much more winter fun. Telkwa is known to be British Columbia’s smallest municipality and its name comes derives from a Carrier First Nations word meaning “where the rivers meet”.

TELKWA’S POPULATION: 1,295

SMITHERS

SMITHERS
Is a town, located on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #16), about halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert in the Bulkley Valley. Before Smithers was even lively as a community, it was home to the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, who were the original first settlers. Smithers was built as a Grand Trunk Pacific station (later the Canadian National Railway). In 1913, it was later made into a railway’s division point and is named after a former chairman of the Railway as well as London banker; Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers (1850-1924). Today, the community of Smithers relies on tourism, logging, dairy farming, agriculture and mining as its economic activities. Smithers is center among four different mountain ranges; The Skeena, Bulkley, Telkwa, and the Rocher Deboule. Hudson’s Bay Mountain (2,621 meters), which dramatically looms right over the town to the west, is a prime and popular destination for tourists and for people who love the outdoors, as a skiing and hiking area. In 1967, Smithers was officially incorporated as a town. Every June, The community is also home to large music festival that has attracted musicians from all over the music industry including acts such as Spirit of the West and the Bare-naked Ladies.

SMITHERS' POPULATION: 5,217

DOG CREEK

DOG CREEK
Is a small back road community, east of the Fraser River about 80 kilometers south of Williams Lake and just east of the Gang Ranch in the Cariboo Chilcotin. A Shuswap (Secwepemc) village used to run here, although other First Nations people continue to live here in nearby Canoe Creek (Sexqeltqin). The earliest white settlers arrived in the Dog Creek Valley arrived around the 1850’s and Dog Creek soon grew as a result. Dog Creek House, a hotel founded J.S. Place, A Dog Creek pioneer and many members of the Place family, burned in 1966.

DOG CREEK’S POPULATION: 157

TOPLEY

TOPLEY

Is a tiny and unincorporated junction community, 51 kilometers west of Burns Lake in northwestern British Columbia in the Bulkley Valley. The community is named after an early first settler by the name of William J. Topley. It is here that a highway (Highway #118) leads 50 kilometers to the former copper mining community of Granisle; now a retirement community, as well as an outdoor recreation center for 177 kilometer-long Babine Lake, a popular lake with fisherman especially with salmon, kokanee, char, and trout. Topley today has a store, gas station and small elementary school but is unincorporated.

TOPLEY'S POPULATION: 118

ANAHAM

ANAHAM
Is a First Nations (Tl’etinqox) reserve and ranching settlement, 98 kilometers west of Williams Lake and 14 kilometers east of Alexis Creek on Highway #20, in the Chilcotin area of British Columbia. It is a Tsilhqot’in band community with a store, small gas station, as well as a few ranches near the surrounding area. It was formed in the mid 1800s during the fur trading days, when people living in the timber and lakes environment decided to move to the grassy, flat meadows of the eastern limits of the Chilcotin. Anaham is not far from both the Ts’il?os, and Nazko Lakes Provincial Parks, which are within a combined total of 30 kilometers within each other (known as its English term as Mount Tatlow, Ts’il?os is pronounced sigh-loss and the “?’’ in the word represents a glottal stop). Anaham is considered one of the Chilcotin’s largest First Nations reserves and is named after an Anaham band leader in the 1860s and is not to be confused with Anahim Lake, which is 218 kilometers, about a good 2 hours drive, west of here. This community is sometimes referred to as Anaham’s Flat and the word Tl’etinqox means “the river flats” in the Chilcotin language referring to nearby Anaham Creek.  

ANAHAM'S POPULATION: 1,445

KLEENA KLEENE

KLEENA KLEENE
Is a tiny First Nations settlement and recreationasl community in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia along Highway #20 and where the Klinaklini River flows into Knight Inlet. Pat McClinchy, Frank Render and Sam Colwell were the first settlers to arrive in the early-1900s, while James MacKill opened a resort at One Eye Lake, southwest of here. In recent years, Kleena Kleene has become a departure point for float plane transportation into the nearby artea's remote lakes and rivers including Nimpo Lake which prides itself at being the "Floatplane Capital of Canada". Kleena Kleena is a base for sightseeing wirth nearby lakes rivers, and mountains to explore and view, especially with Mount Waddington, British Columbia third highest mountain as the province's largest provincial park in Tweedsmuir. Kleena Kleene’s main economic activity is based entirely on ranching and means “eulachon grease” in Kwakwala language. Several books from the area tell the story of the history of the community and its ranching heritage including the history of several ranches including that of Dane and Clearwater Lake Ranches. The area of where Kleena Kleene is located is where the Klinaklini River, the Homathko River as well as the Chilcotin River share the same stretch of Chilcotin Plateau.

KLEENA KLEENE’S POPULATION: 93