For thousands of years, First Nations used trails and waterways to travel between hunting, fishing and trading areas.[2] Prior to the 1860s, French was probably more common in parts of the interior than English. Consequently, Boute du Lac[3] (meaning foot of the lake) Indians was the name initially assigned to this indigenous group.[4] Since the Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail crossed the Thompson at Kamloops, these people would have experienced limited exposure to the French-speaking fur trade era.[5]
During the 1860s, the Savona Ferry Indians became the new name and the people gravitated to the Deadman Valley to build a small church and few houses.[6] Having previously wintered in the valley and at the lake outlet, the establishment of the reserve in the late 1860s, revised the name to the Deadman Creek Band. In 1985, the traditional name of Skeetchestn Band was reinstated. Archaeological sites are scattered throughout the area.[7] The main reserve is northwest of Savona on the Deadman River.[8]
Ferries and bridges
About 1858, during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, François Saveneux established a ferry across the fast current of the Thompson. The small ferry could likely carry two packhorses accompanied by riders. Herded cattle would swim across. Place names quickly anglicized, resulting in the Savona spelling.[9] Lieutenant Mayne's 1859 sketch of the Fraser Canyon identifies but does not name the ferry.[1] The family lived on the south shore and François died in 1862. His widow continued the ferry, which Ned Roberts took over in the mid-1860s, residing on the north shore.[10] James Uren was the operator when the government assumed control in 1870. He built a large scow to carry a four-horse rig.[11]
The 1875 flood snapped the rope, which was replaced by a steel cable in 1876. High water set the ferry adrift in 1878. The next year, when the cable broke, two occupants were saved, but one drowned.[12] The 192-metre (630ft) long bridge, with a 43-metre (140ft)Howe truss main span,[13] opened in 1884.[14] This swing bridge[15] experienced severe flood damage in 1888[12] and complete destruction in 1894.[16] When reinstated in 1895, the ferry[17] remained free, but a charge was levied for after hours service. In the late 1890s, hordes travelling to the Klondike Gold Rush created a busy period.[18]
In 1903, high water sent the ferry to destruction downstream.[19] Almost a year later, a replacement was installed.[20]
In 1906, the second bridge opened 457 metres (500yd) east of the 1884 site. Three small spans flanked three 50-metre (164ft) ones.[21] After being largely swept away in 1908,[22] the third bridge was quickly built upon the existing piers. In 1929, a two-lane 213-metre (700ft) steel bridge,[23] about 400 metres (437yd) downstream, replaced the wooden bridge.[21] The next year, the former bridge was dynamited.[24]
Widening of the 1929 bridge to 7 metres (24ft) began in 1957[25] and was completed the following year.[26]
In 1972, a pickup truck and trailer jackknifed on the bridge.[27] After colliding with a semi-trailer on the bridge in 1979, an RV plunged about 30 metres (100ft), killing the two occupants.[28] In 1982, a semi-trailer crashed through a guardrail on the bridge and fell to the riverbed, killing the driver.[29]
In 1991, a two-lane concrete bridge replaced the one-lane Bailey bridge over the railway track at the Savona East access.[30] In 1993, Cortez Construction[31] adopted the "Highline" method to install the girders for the river bridge replacement.[32]
Roads and steamers
The Big Bend Gold Rush of 1865 prompted the construction of the wagon road from Cache Creek to Savona.[33]Gustavus Blin Wright built the 37-kilometre (23mi), 5-metre (18ft) wide road, which opened in April 1866.[34] A stage coach service began immediately.[35][36] That month, ten mules hauled the boiler for the SS Marten over this route.[33] The boat hull had been built at Shuswap Lake and floated down to Savona for installation of the machinery. Launched in May 1866,[37] this first steamboat on Kamloops Lake provided a link to Seymour on Shuswap Lake, from where prospectors proceeded to the Big Bend.[33]
SS Peerless, Savona (north shore berth), 1885
In 1869, the wagon road from Savona to Kamloops was completed.[38]
In 1872, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) built the small steamer SS Kamloops to carry supplies for surveyors from Savona. Mara and Wilson, Kamloops merchants, bought the Marten from the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1875.[39] The next year, the vessel smashed into the HBC warehouse, demolishing the east wing.[40] In 1877, the Marten was wrecked.[41]
After the railway opened, a steamer service from Kamloops still operated for over a decade.[42]
In 1931, a new piece of road known as the eight-mile hill, about halfway between Cherry Creek and Savona, opened to traffic.[44]
In 1953, the 11-kilometre (7mi) realignment from the highway bridge to the viewpoint, which included the Savona bypass, opened.[45]
Largely paved by 1937, the road westward was replaced by a more elevated highway in the 1960s.[35]
Prior to Greyhound Canada ceasing all intraprovincial routes in 2018, an application the prior year included a service reduction via Savona.[46] Ebus provides a three times weekly bus service.[47]
Earlier north shore community
South shore warehouse in foreground and north shore settlement in background, Savona, c.1885
The settlement grew adjacent to the HBC post.[1] In 1867, the post office opened.[48] Named Savona's Ferry, the place was a postage zone boundary. When the Colony of British Columbia changed from sterling to decimal currency in 1867, the postage rate to this boundary was 12.5 cents and beyond was 25 cents.[49] The post office was closed 1870–1881.[1]
In 1870, James Uren purchased the W.H. Kay stopping house, which he refurbished and later extended.[50] In the early 1870s, James Sabiston operated a store.[51] Uren managed the HBC warehouse 1873–1878,[52] which held freight awaiting lake transport to Kamloops.[41] About 1882, he renamed the lodgings as Savona House.[52] John Jane's general store, which opened in 1881, soon faced competition from the various stores across the lake which sprang up to serve the CP construction crews.[53] Around this time, Abraham Thomas opened a saloon, which became known as the Central Hotel.[54] In fall 1883, James A. Newland and Adam B. Ferguson opened a hotel called Lakeview House,[55] which thrived during the CP construction period.[56] The location of the cemetery on the north shore suggests its existence by this time.
In 1886, Barnard's Express relocated headquarters to Ashcroft,[57] James Uren died in England,[39] Ferguson bought out his hotel partner, and many of the residences lay abandoned.[58] Ferguson closed the hotel in 1891, and one account claims the building was hauled across the frozen lake, possibly to be used as a family residence.[56] That year, John Jane closed his store.[53] By then, the north shore settlement was largely deserted.[59] Thomas may have continued his hotel as late as 1904.[60]
Earlier south shore community
No buildings existed in 1882 at what became the CP townsite in 1884. H.F. Keefer's general store,[61] a little log structure at a site which for several years was known as Keefers Point,[62] was the first business. Many more followed but soon disappeared once the railway construction moved on. When the jail was built,[61] John Kirkup became the initial jailer and constable.[63]
The Savona brewery, which opened in 1885,[64] burned down in 1889.[63] Laid out in 1885, the townsite never rose to significance but remained a small hamlet.[65]
CP Station, water tower and settlement, Savona, 1898
In 1886, Mat Finlay took over management of the Van-Horne Hotel from Mr. Crotty.[58] In 1891, Ferguson acquired the Finlay hotel,[56] which he renamed Lakeview House,[59] and John Jane opened his large new store.[53] Successive storekeepers ensured the ongoing presence of a general store in the community.[66] An attempt to start a school around 1889 appears to have failed, probably due to insufficient students.[67] In 1894–95, the first school opened[68] in a former brewery residence that was dragged uptown.[69] The first proper schoolhouse was erected in 1900.[66]
In 1904, a community hall opened.[70] In 1909, brothers Jack and Jake Christian bought the hotel.[61]
Prior to 1910, the names Savona's Ferry, Van Horne, Savonas, and Savona, were used interchangeably until settling upon the latter.[65] Although a provincial constable was resident at that time,[71] it is unclear whether the presence had been intermittent since the 1880s.
In 1911, Savona became a Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) construction base,[72] which temporarily boosted the population.[66] That year, the new 21-by-9-metre (70 by 30ft) community hall opened.[73]
In 1913, a tender was published[74] for a new jail/courtroom/constable's quarters.[69] Around 1915, St Hilda's Anglican church was built.[75] A resident constable remained until the mid-1920s.[76] In 1924, fire destroyed the hotel.[61]
Advertised for sale In 1930,[77] the 1913 jail complex was sold and converted in 1932 to a private residence.[69] In 1937, a new one-room school replaced the old one.[78] In the later 1930s, Savona Lodge[79] and Savona Hotel were established.[80]
In 1953, St Hilda's Anglican Church was moved across the CP tracks to a more central location.[81] About 1954, BC Hydro transmission lines introduced electricity to the area.[82] That summer, Dey's new store and café opened on the new bypass, replacing the building destroyed by fire months earlier.[83]
In 1959, a voluntary fire department was established.[84] In 1963, the new firehall opened and the department received a new pumper truck.[85]
By the 1960s, the CP water tank was no longer used by trains but remained for several more years to supply Savona prior to the installation of its own water system.[86] The new parish house of St Hilda's church was dedicated in 1965.[87]
BC Tel extended the toll-free calling areas in 1982[88] and 1990.[89] In 1998, the remaining customers on party lines switched to direct dialing.[90]
Railways
Canadian Pacific
CP chose the name Port Van Horne (after William Cornelius Van Horne, CP general manager) for the proposed railway siding, steamboat landing, warehouses, and community.[61][91] In December 1884, the eastward advance of the CP rail head from Port Moody halted[92] about one mile east.[93]
CP assigned little prominence to the new name, preferring to use some variation of Savona.[94] Assumedly, a spur connected to the landing, from where supplies were forwarded farther up the lake. Restarted in the summer, the tracklaying reached Kamloops in July 1885.[95]
CP Station and unfinished water tower, Savona, 1885
Andrew Onderdonk was awarded the government contracts for Emory Bar–Savona in 1880 and Port Moody–Emory Bar in 1882 and the CP contract for Savona–Craigellachie in 1884 (although the location of the latter would depend upon where the two advancing rail heads met).[96]
Built in 1884, the station and agent's residence were unimpressive[97] and have been mistakenly identified as the standard-design (Bohi's Type 5) single-storey station building with gable roof and dormers (identical to Keefers). The replacement in the late 1890s was the standard-design Plan H-I-20-6 (Bohi's Type 1) split level station building, which was destroyed in 1969[98] or 1972.[99] (The latter was similar to Gleichen station).[100]
In 1898, a train struck a man, who sustained fatal injuries.[101]
By 1900, the station was a significant shipping point for livestock.[102]
In 1908, a man died on falling from a train about 11 kilometres (7mi) east.[103]
In 1910, a brakeman, who was jolted from the top of a car,[104] when the emergency brakes inexplicably engaged, received severe lacerations to the head and was knocked unconscious. A court awarded $3,000 in damages.[105] Later that year, a freight train ran over a man, causing fatal injuries.[106]
Settlement and CP Station, Savona, 1915
In 1911, a locomotive and several passenger cars derailed about 6 kilometres (4mi) east.[107] That year, CP erected a new freight shed.[108]
In 1912, a locomotive struck a landslide and plunged 61 metres (200ft) down an embankment. Two men died, several cars were derailed, and significant track was destroyed.[109]
In 1913, a passenger alighting from a moving train slipped on the icy platform and fell under the cars, where he sustained fatal injuries.[110] A week later a westbound passenger train struck and killed an individual.[111]
In 1939, when the westbound royal train made a water stop, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth came out onto the rear observation platform of their car and the crowd sang God Save the King, accompanied by a single violin.[112]
In 1969, 25 units of a westbound freight train derailed about 1.6 kilometres (1mi) west.[114]
In the 1970s, a westbound freight train derailed just to the west. On rolling down an embankment into the river, boxcars spilled their contents. Not realizing that the passing flotsam included colour TV sets, some men fishing downstream mistakenly assumed it was all garbage. A submerged TV later recovered by the official salvager worked perfectly.[115]
In 1980, a train ran over and killed an inebriated woman sleeping on the track.[116]
In 1981, a man walking along the track sustained fatal injuries when struck by a train.[117]
In 1987, a train killed a man sitting on the track.[118]
During the early 1910s, a CNoR hospital existed at Savona.[142]
In April 1914, about 150 members of the IWW marched to confront construction strike-breakers on the north shore at Savona, where a large contingent of armed provincial police and special constables was stationed. A locomotive enlisted to clear the strikers, bumped a leader causing head injuries, a broken leg, and a few broken ribs. In the confusion, 48 strikers were arrested.[143] Convicted of vagrancy, they received one to three months in jail.[144]
In December 1914, the westward advance of the CNoR rail head from Kamloops passed through Savona.[145]
The Canadian National Railway (CN) passing track at Savona on the predominantly single-track subdivision was 0.9 kilometres (2,997ft) in 1916,[146] progressively extending to the current 4.1 kilometres (13,350ft).[147]
Like the CP water tower, the CN tank held 150,000 litres; 33,000 imperial gallons (40,000USgal).[148]
In 1928, three members of a section gang were buried alive under a rockslide at a nearby tunnel entrance.[149]
In 1931, Smith Curtis sustained some broken bones on being struck by a freight train.[150]
The 1948 flood undermined a pier of the CN Deadman River bridge. When the pier toppled, two 27-metre (90ft) steel spans crashed into the river. The reopening was a year later.[151]
In 1971, a train struck a teenager on the CN Savona Bridge, causing extensive injuries.[152]
In 1980, a train struck an inebriated man lying beside the track, causing multiple fractures of the knee.[153]
In 1983, a freighthopper, who fell from a boxcar, met with nine days in jail.[154]
^a . The twice weekly Kamloops–Boston Barway-freight, introduced in 1932,[168] is omitted from the Official Guide timetables.
Forestry
Established in 1906, the Savona Land and Lumber Company[65] opened the Monarch Lumber Co mill in 1907, which had an electric generation plant.[169] The average daily cut was 10,668 metres (35,000ft) in 1908,[170] increasing to 21,336 metres (70,000ft) in 1909.[171] About 30 employees lived in the company boarding house.[172] A 1911 fire at the mill destroyed a shed and contents and about 152,400 metres (500,000ft) of finished lumber in the yard.[173]
In spring 1912, the Canada United Lumber Co was incorporated to take over various lumber interests, including the Savona mill.[174] About this time, fire destroyed the mill. Rebuilding was completed in the fall.[175] Sold to Annis Lumber in 1914, the sawmill closed in 1918.[65]
Savona Timber opened a new mill around 1947[26] and merged with Ashcroft Lumber around 1964.[176]
A log, which rolled from a truck being unloaded in 1968, killed a man.[177] That year, Evans Products acquired the business, which comprised a sawmill, plywood plant, planer mill and chipping facilities.[178]
A 1976 fire gutted the Savona Timber offices.[179] In 1978, a mill worker was electrocuted.[180]
Reduced demand caused temporary lay offs and shorter work weeks in 1980,[181] 1981,[182] and 1983.[183]
By 1990, Ainsworth Lumber had purchased the operations.[184] During 1997 and 1998, Ainsworth upgraded the plywood facility.[185]
Temporary lay offs and reduced hours returned in 2000,[186] 2001,[187] and 2008.[188]
A 2009 fire caused no major structural damage to the mill.[189] Months later, Ainsworth Lumber permanently ceased operations.[190]
In 2010, Aspen Planers purchased the property.[191] Trading as Savona Specialty Plywood, production resumed the next year.[192]
Natural gas transmission
During 1957, Westcoast Transmission installed a 183-metre (600ft) natural gas pipeline across the Thompson, immediately southwest of the current highway bridge.[193]
As one of the compressor stations in western Canada with a waste heat recovery system, Savona has a 5 MW zero-emission facility operated by Enbridge.[195]
In 2020, a new gas cooler was added to the plant.[196]
Seasonal or permanent residences have replaced the old lakeshore motels, campgrounds and auto courts that dotted the waterfront. Several commercial enterprises provide employment opportunities.[208]
In 2005, a new 131-square-metre (1,410sqft) wood frame public library was erected.[209] The next year, the heritage centre opened inside the former library building.[210]
The water supply system, which serves about 300 customers, was largely constructed in 1977 and upgraded in 1996, 2010, and 2018.[211] A municipal sewer system does not exist.[212] In 2006, the regional district took over the system from the local improvement district.[213]
In 2009, curbside garbage collection was implemented.[214] In 2011, broadband internet was introduced.[215]
In 2012, controversy surrounded the dismissal of the entire team of volunteer medical emergency responders by the fire chief.[216]
In 2013, sewage again overflowed at a trailer park, which highlighted neighbourhood concerns regarding noisy summer parties[217] and a rezoning which permitted 12 RV units. The property has been used intermittently as a campground since the 1960s.[218]
Savona infrastructure includes a post office,[220] library, volunteer fire department, Anglican church,[221] grocery store, two gas stations, and the Lakeside Country Inn.[222]
The Savona Balancing Rock rests upon a clay hoodoo. The Kamloops Lake Viewpoint has picnic tables and pit toilets. The Savona Caves are found on Savona Mountain. The Savona Lakeshore Park lies within the hamlet.[222]
↑ "Victoria Daily Times". www.newspapers.com. December 24, 1914. p.3. The line has been laid from Kamloops to bridge 8, near Walhachin, leaving about 58 miles to be laid to connect up the Port Mann–Kamloops division.
Spuzzum is an unincorporated community in the lower Fraser Canyon area of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The place is on the west shore of the Fraser River and north shore of Spuzzum Creek. The locality, on BC Highway 1, is by road about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hope and 69 kilometres (43 mi) south of Lytton.
Pinantan Lake is an unincorporated community, encircling the larger lake of the same name, in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia. The locality is by road about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Pritchard and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northeast of Kamloops.
Princeton is a town municipality in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia, Canada. The former mining and railway hub lies at the confluence of the Tulameen into the Similkameen River, just east of the Cascade Mountains. At the junction of BC Highway 3 and 5A, the locality is by road about 67 kilometres (42 mi) northwest of Keremeos, 133 kilometres (83 mi) east of Hope, and 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Merritt.
Sicamous is a district municipality in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia. The place is adjacent to the narrows, which is the confluence of Mara Lake into Shuswap Lake. At the BC Highway 97A intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.
Ashcroft is a village municipality that straddles the Thompson River in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. East of BC Highway 1 and on BC Highway 97C, the locality is by road about 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Spences Bridge and 11 kilometres (7 mi) south of Cache Creek.
Walhachin is an unincorporated community in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. The place is on a south shore bench of the Thompson River between Brassey and Jimmie creeks. The locality, off BC Highway 1, is by road about 77 kilometres (48 mi) northeast of Spences Bridge, 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of Cache Creek, and 66 kilometres (41 mi) west of Kamloops.
Alexandra Bridge Park lies within the lower Fraser Canyon of British Columbia, Canada. This provincial park is adjacent to the historic suspension bridge from 1926, which spans the Fraser River and was built using the eastern abutment of the bridge from 1863. The locality, on BC Highway 1, is by road about 44 kilometres (27 mi) north of Hope and 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of Lytton.
Coalmont is an unincorporated community on the northeast side of the Tulameen River, in the Similkameen region of south central British Columbia, Canada. On Coalmont Rd, the former mining community is by road about 92 kilometres (57 mi) south of Merritt and 19 kilometres (12 mi) northwest of Princeton.
Pritchard is an unincorporated community straddling the South Thompson River in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia. Northeast of the BC Highway 97 intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about 19 kilometres (12 mi) west of Chase and 39 kilometres (24 mi) east of Kamloops.
The Coldwater River is in south central British Columbia, Canada. The river is the largest tributary of the Nicola River, which is joined at Merritt.
Brookmere is an unincorporated community adjacent to Brook Creek in the Nicola region of south central British Columbia, Canada. On Coldwater Rd, the former railway hamlet is by road about 44 kilometres (27 mi) south of Merritt.
Monte Creek is an unincorporated community in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia. The former ferry landing is east of the mouth of Monte Creek and on the south shore of the South Thompson River. Immediately west of the BC Highway 97 intersection on BC Highway 1, the locality is by road about 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Chase and 28 kilometres (17 mi) east of Kamloops.
The Alexandra Bridge is a steel arch bridge across the Fraser River in the lower Fraser Canyon area of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The two-lane crossing, carrying BC Highway 1, is by road about 44 kilometres (27 mi) north of Hope and 66 kilometres (41 mi) south of Lytton.
Mara Lake is a lake in the Shuswap Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. To the west is Hyde Mountain and east is Morton Peak. The outlet of the Shuswap River forms the upper reaches. The lower end enters the narrows at Sicamous and flows into Shuswap Lake. The northern end of Mara Lake is by road about 73 kilometres (45 mi) west of Revelstoke, 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Kamloops, and 75 kilometres (47 mi) north of Vernon.
Keefers is a railway point in the lower Fraser Canyon area of southwestern British Columbia. The ghost town is on the west shore of the Fraser River and north of the mouth of the Nahatlatch River. The locality is by rail about 82 kilometres (50.8 mi) north of Hope and 26 kilometres (15.9 mi) south of Lytton.
Avola is an unincorporated community in the Thompson region of eastern British Columbia. The former ferry site is on the west shore of the North Thompson River immediately north of the mouth of Avola Creek. Off BC Highway 5, the locality is by road about 190 kilometres (118 mi) northeast of the Kamloops and 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Blue River.
Birch Island is an unincorporated community in the Thompson region of south central British Columbia. The former ferry site is by the mouth of Foghorn Creek and straddles the North Thompson River. On BC Highway 5, the locality is by road about 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the Kamloops and 99 kilometres (62 mi) southwest of Blue River.
Interior Savings Credit Union operated as a member-owned financial co-operative headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1939, the branch network expanded by multiple mergers and became one of the larger BC credit unions. The 2024 merger with Gulf & Fraser created the Beem Credit Union.
Nicola is an unincorporated community in the Nicola region of south central British Columbia. The place is on the north side of the Nicola River at the southwestern end of Nicola Lake. On BC Highway 5A, the locality is by road about 11 kilometres (7 mi) northeast of Merritt, 77 kilometres (48 mi) southeast of Spences Bridge, and 90 kilometres (56 mi) southwest of Kamloops.
The Nicola, Kamloops and Similkameen Coal and Railway Co (NK&S), ultimately a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) subsidiary, connected Spences Bridge and Nicola in south central British Columbia. This standard gauge trackage, which followed the Nicola River, formed the CP Nicola Subdivision.
Villiers, Edward (1998). Old buildings of Savona: The railway buildings of Savona. Self-published.
Villiers, Edward (2001). The road to Savona from Cache Creek, completed in April, 1866. Savona Community Heritage Committee.
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Highway 1 
