7227 Pioneer Ave |
British Columbia Tourism Region : Vancouver, Coast, & Mountains
Description From Owner:
- Agassiz - After Captain Lewis N. Agassiz. Having sold his commission in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, he emigrated first to Prince Edward Island and then to Ontario.
- 1858 he arrived in Victoria among the thousands of gold-seekers pouring in from California.
- After some time in the Cariboo goldfields, he turned to farming in the Fraser Valley.
- Pre-empting land in the Agassiz Valley in 1862, Captain Agassiz and his family finally took up residence here in 1867, giving his place the ultra-English name of Ferny Coombe. When the CPR was built, the station here was named Agassiz.
- Maria Slough - Jeremiah Gilbert Bristol (Bristol Island) had a sulky Indian wife who let her sister, Maria, do all the work
- Bristol, in his will, left Maria land in this area. The sternwheeler Maria plied the nearby Fraser during the gold rush. The Halkomelem name of this slough means 'turn at the head.'
- Seabird Island - After the American paddlewheel steamer Sea Bird, which ran aground here on 24 June 1858.
- The river dropping, the steamer was left high and dry, and a set of ways had to be built to relaunch her. She was totally destroyed by fire off Victoria a couple of months later.
- Sumallo River - From a Thompson Indian word possibly meaning 'Dolly Varden fish numerous here in times past.'
- Taboo Creek - During gold rush days, a party of Chinese camped where the trail crossed this stream. One of their number dying here, he remained unburied for some time, the others refusing to touch his body.
- Wahleach Island - ). From the descriptive Halkomelem name for the island, indicating that it had 'willow on the back.'
- Welch Peak - The firm of Foley, Welch, and Stewart held mining property in this area, and three of the peaks were named after the partners.
- With permission from G.P.V and Helen B. Akrigg 1997 British Columbia Place Names. UBC Press.
Address of this page: http://bc.ruralroutes.com/Agassiz