I

MEANING

3ANADIAN CITY NAMES

R. DOUGLAS, M.A

Secretary, Geograp!

Reprinted from the

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MEANING

OF

CANADIAN CITY NAMES

COMPILED BY

R. DOUGLAS, M.A.

Secretary, Geographic Board of Canada.

Reprinted from the 1 7th Report of the Geographic Board.

OTTAWA F. A. ACLAND

PRINTER TO TH1- KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1922

32774—1

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(PART n.)

MEANING OF CANADIAN CITY NAMES

COMPILED BY

R. DOUGLAS, M.A;

Secretary, Geographic Board of Canada.

ALBERTA

Calgary was so named in 1876 by Colonel James Farquharson Macleod of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police. It is the name of the ancestral estate of his mother's family, the Mackenzies, on the island of Mull, Scotland, which he had visited shortly before. Calgary is a Gaelic word the meaning of which is disputed. In the fall of 1875 there was trouble with half breeds and Indians in Prince Albert region and Major-General E. Selby Smyth, commanding the Canadian Militia, was sent from the east to investigate. He travelled across the prairie northwesterly from Winnipeg. Colonel Macleod, then in command of the mounted police, whose headquarters were fort Macleod, which he had built the previous year, was advised by telegraph to meet General Smyth at Red Deer with fifty men. At the conference one of the matters agreed on was that a police post should be established on Bow river. On his return south Colonel Macleod, who had earlier in the year established fort Walsh in the Cypress hills, on 6 August, 1875, sent E troop under Inspector E. A. Brisebois to erect barracks on the west side of the. Elbow and south side of the Bow, in the angle between the two rivers, a site evidently selected by Colonel Macleod before he went north. The buildings were erected by the I. G. Baker Co., a fur-trading concern which had a trading post of its own in the vicinity but on the east side of Elbow river. The circumstances under which the name was given are narrated in the following letter with endorsation by Edward Blake, minister of Justice sent by Asst. Commr. A. G. Irvine from fort Macleod, 29th February, 1876, to Lt.-Col. Bernard, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Justice, Ottawa : — "As we have now a post or fort at Bow River it would be as well if it was known by some name, I visited the post about a fortnight ago with Colonel Macleod, and when we were there Inspector Brisebois (who is in command of the station) — issued an order without consulting either Colonel Macleod or myself — stating that all public documents sent from his Fort were to be headed Fort Brisebois. I, of course, cancelled the order at once, as in the first place Inspector Brisebois had no authority to issue such an order and in the second place the Fort was not built by Inspector Brisebois' Troop and neither the Troop or the people about there wish the place called Brisebois. Colonel Macleod has sug- gested the name of Calgary which I believe in Scotch means running water, a very appropriate name I think. Should the Minister be pleased to approve of this name I will issue an Order to that effect." The endorsation is "Do not interfere with Asst. Commr's. discretion in choosing the name he mentions, E.B." Brisebois resigned from the force 16 August, 1876. A mounted police report dated 30 December, 1876, states that there were stationed at Fort Calgary at that time, one inspector, one sub-inspector and thirty-five constables and sub- constables. This same year the Hudson's Bay Company opened a trading station close to the site of the fort with Angus Fraser in charge. There were three structures — a store, a residence for the manager and an interpreter's cabin — which were made of logs floated down the river from the west. Information from G. C. King, postmaster, Calgary, James F. Stanford, Great Falls, Montana, former members of the force and other sources Post office opened 1 October, 1883.

4 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Edmonton takes its name from Fort Edmonton, built 1795, twenty miles distant down the North Saskatchewan river by George Sutherland,Hudson's Bay Co and BO named probably as a compliment to his clerk, John Prudens, a native of Edmonton, near London, England. The site of the fort was on the north bank of the river a mile and a half above the mouth of Sturgeon river. Beside fort Edmonton stood Fort Augustus of the North West Company, built a year or so earlier. Both trading posts were destroyed by the Indians and abandoned in 1807. New forts of the same names were built by the rival traders in 1808 on the slope of the high bank within the present city of Edmonton. The city is shown by its present name, that is, without the prefix "fort" on the map accompanying Milton and Cheadle's "The Northwest Passage by Land," published 1865. J. B. Tyrrell in David Thompson's Nar- rative, Toronto, 1916, page 432. Post office opened 1 February, 1877.

Lethbridge was staked out in the spring of 1885 and named after Wm. Lethbridge (1824-1901) the first president of the North Western Coal and Navigation Company, Ltd. Mr. Lethbridge was a partner in W. H. Smith and Son, booksellers, London, England. Prior to 1885 called Coal Banks. Information from C. A. Magrath, Ottawa and W. H. Smith and Son, London, Kntilaiid. Post office opened 1 October, 1885.

Medicine Hat is a translation of the Blackfoot Indian name of the place Saamis, meaning "headdress of a medicine man." About 1882 W. Johnson, a member of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police erected the first house of the future city on a site which is still known as the Johnson subdivision. The origin of the name Saamis is uncertain; one explanation connects it with a fight between the Cree and the Blackfoot tribes, when the Cree medicine man lost his war bonnet in the river; another with the slaughter of a party of white settlers and the appropriation by the Indian medicine man of a fancy hat worn by one of the victims; another with the rescue of a squaw from the South Saskatchewan river by an Indian brave, upon whose head a well known medicine man placed his own hat as a token of admiration of the act of the rescuer; still another story says the name was given to the locality because an Indian chief saw in a vision an Indian rising out of the South Saskatchewan wearing the plumed hat of a medicine man; it is also alleged that the name was applied to a hill east of the town, from its resemblance to the hat of an Indian medicine man. Post office opened 1 July, 1883.

Red Deer takes its name from the Red Deer (in Cree Indian waskasu) river on which it is situated. Three miles west of the present city is a ford where the trail from the south to Edmonton crossed the river. Traffic north over the prairie greatly increased after the Canadian Pacific Railway reached Calgary in 1883 and in the fall of that year a stopping place and a trading post were erected at the Red Deer crossing. As time passed the word "crossing" dropped out of use. In the early summer of 1891 steel was laid on the Calgary and Edmonton railway as far as Red Deer river and the company proceeded to lay out the present town on the banks of the river at a point, as already stated, three miles below the original settlement or crossing and, after considerable discussion between the late James Ross, representing the railway company and the late Rev. Leonard Gaetz, representing the early settlers, it was agreed to retain the name Red Deer for the new town. During the summer, both of the traders who were located at the crossing moved down the river to the new town- site. The postamster, who was one of the traders referred to, received permis- sion from the postmaster general to move the office from where it was estab- lished 1 December, 1884, to the new location. Information from R. L. Gaetz BOH of Rev. L. Gaetz.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 5

Wetaskiwin came into being about the year 1892, when the Calgary and Edmonton railway was in course of construction. The Calgary and Edmonton Townsite Company, Ltd., which laid out the settlement, adopted the Indian name, Wetaskiwin, of the neighbouring "hills of peace," where in earlier days certain Indian tribes had met and made peace. Post office opened 1 December, 1892.

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Alberni, situated in Somas river at the head of Alberni canal, takes its name from the canal which was named in 1791 by Lietuenant Francisco Eliza after Don Pedro Alberni. Alberni was in command of the soldiers taking part in the Spanish expedition under Eliza sent by the Viceroy of Mexico to occupy the coast, 1790. A sawmill was established at the head of the canal in 1860. Captain Richards, H.M.S. Hecate called the locality Alberni in 1861. Post office opened July, 1886, under name of Sayward Alberni; name changed to Alberni,! July,1891.

Armstrong was named in 1892 after Hector Armstrong of London, England, who was head of the firm of underwriters who negotiated the bonds of the Shuswap and Okanagan railway. Mr. Armstrong was in British Columbia for a brief period when the railway was under construction. Post office opened 1 August, 1892.

Chilliwack is an Indian name. The first white settlers in the valley arrived in 1862 and adopted the Indian name of the district. The name Chilli- wack or Chilliwhack would appear to have actually entered official records when the Yale road was surveyed through the valley in 1864. Information from P. J. Brown, city clerk. Post office probably opened 1872 as first record appears in Postal Guide, 1873.

Courtenay townsite, Com ox harbour, Vancouver island, was laid out in 1891 and named after the river on the banks of which it is situated. The river was named about 1860 after Captain (later Rear Admiral) George William Conway Courtenay, H.M.S. Constance, 50 guns, on Pacific Station 1846-49. (Walbran, British Columbia Coast names). Post office opened 1 July, 1893.

Cranbrook was so named about the year 1885 by Colonel James Baker sometime Minister of Mines and Education, B.C., because the "Bakers" had lived at Cranbrook, Kent, England. There was no settlement to speak of before this time, but earlier the place was known as Joseph's Prairie after an Indian chief. The Indians call it yet "Joseph Achnadate." Cranbrook became important in consequence of the opening of the Crowsnest branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Information from R. L. Galbraith, Fort Steele. Post office opened September, 1898.

Cumberland, mining centre, Vancouver island, was originally known as Union, but was renamed by James Dunsmuir, 1891, after Cumberland, the north of England mining county. Union post office opened 1 August, 1889; name changed to Cumberland 1 April, 1898.

Duncan, Vancouver island, prior to 1886 was known as Alderlea. In that year the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway was constructed. A level crossing near Alderlea, close to the farm of the late Wm. Chalmers Duncan, an 1862 pioneer, was called Duncan's Crossing. In 1887 a station was opened at the crossing and called Duncan's Station. Information from James Craig, city clerk. Post office of Duncan's Station opened 1 September, 1899.

32774—2

6 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Enderby was named after Enderby village, Lincoln, England. Post office opened 1 November, 1887.

Fernie commemorates Peter and William Fernie, early settlers. William discovered coal in the Crowsnest pass. Post office opened 1 August, 1898. Wm. Fernie, now a resident of Victoria, B.C., thus describes his experiences: "I went into the pass per pack trail in the spring of 1887 to prospect for coal on one of the tributaries of Michel creek, which is one of the tributaries of Elk river and I found several seams of coal there and took up some thousands of acres there and applied to the British Columbia government to purchase same, but failed to finish the survey of them until the following year. In the spring of 1889 I went back to the valley of the Elk river and prospected for coal on Coal creek and adjacent lands in the Elk River valley and found many seams of coal and applied to purchase 10,000 acres of same. I was engaged from that time steadily in prospecting and developing the property of the company until 1900 when I retired from the service of the company. In 1898 the townsite of Fernie was cleared and the site surveyed into streets and lots. The town was named after me as being the discoverer of the coal, a director of the company and having had control of all the field work until the work got too big for one man to handle."

Greenwood was incorporated as a city in 1897. The first settler was Robert Wood in 1895. Origin indefinite, but general opinion is that as the townsite was covered with green timber and Wood owned the townsite, Green- wood was considered an appropriate name. Information from A. N. Mowat, postmaster. Post office opened 1 March, 1896.

Kamloops celebrated its centenary in 1912, because, a century earlier in May, 1812, Alexander Ross established a post at "Cumcloups" — the meeting of the waters — at the junction of the North Thompson and South Thompson rivers. He was representing the Pacific Fur Company; his trade during the ten days of his visit was extensive, and he found himself in the midst of a good beaver country. The previous summer the Pacific Fur Co. had sent David Stuart from Astoria to explore the territory lying between the Columbia and Fraser rivers. Ascending the Okanagan to the height of land he reached the South Thompson river, and was compelled to spend the winter with the Shuswap and other Indian tribes in the neighbourhood; his report led to the visit of Alexander Ross. Alex. Ross, Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River. In 1812 the Nor'-Westers built a post close to that of the Astorians, whose whole undertaking was acquired in 1813; eight years later the amalgamation of the Hudson's Bay Company with their rivals led to the establishment of the Company in Kamloops. The Postal Guide for 1872 contains the first records of the opening of a post office.

Kaslo was named in 1890 after the river of the same name by the present postmaster and his brother, pioneer settlers. The name is not Indian. An old trapper told the postmaster that in the days when the Hudson's Bay Co. went to Kootenay lake to get lead from the Blue Bell mine for bullets, there was a Frenchman with the party by the name of John Kaslo or Kasleau who came up the lake to the head looking for placer gold and called the river after himself. Information from D. P. Kane, postmaster. Post office opened 1 August, 1892.

Relowna is an Indian word meaning "grizzly bear." The name was selected by the late John Coryell, C.E., of the firm of Coryell and Burnyeat of Vernon who surveyed the site of the present city in 1891-92 for Lequime Bros., the owners of the land. Prior to this survey the nearest settlement was Okanagan Mission, three and a half miles distant. The first hotel and store

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 7

were erected in 1892. About the time the Kelowna townsite was surveyed, Mr. G. G. McKay purchased from an old Red River half-breed named John McDougall certain lands adjoining the Kelowna townsite and sold a portion of same to Lord Aberdeen, who gave the name Guisachan to the land purchased by him. Mr. McKay endeavoured to form a townsite at Benvoulin, near Okanagan Mission but this site is three miles distant from the lake and the venture was not successful. Information from Police Magistrate E. Weddell. Post office opened 1 February, 1893.

Ladysmith, Vancouver island, was so named in 1900 by James Dunsmuir proprietor of neigbhouring coal mines, after Ladysmith, South Africa, when he heard 1 March of the relief of that town the previous day by the British army after a four months siege by the Boers. Post office opened under the name Oyster Harbour, on which Ladysmith is situated, 1 October, 1899. Name changed to Ladysmith 1 January, 1901. The name Oyster Harbour was adopted on the chart by Captain Richards in 1859, because there were large oyster beds on the flats at the head of the bay. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names.

Merritt was named August, 1906, after Wm. Hamilton Merritt, promoter of the railway running from Spence Bridge through the Nicola valley. Informa- tion from W. R. Langstaff, postmaster. Post office opened 15 August, 1907.

Nanaimo, the name of a coal centre on Vancouver island, is the Indian name of the locality and the home of the five bands, forming a loose confederacy (Nanaimo). A letter from Governor Douglas dated 24 August, 1852, directs Joseph W. McKay "to proceed to Wintuhuysen inlet, commonly known as Nanymo bay and formally take possession of the coal beds lately discovered." Letters for the settlement, previous to 1859 were usually addressed "Colville Town, Nanaimo V.I. (after Andrew Colville, governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1852-56.) After that date the first name was gradually discontinued and has not been used since 1860. (Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names.) First record of post office appears in Postal Guide, 1872.

Nelson may be said to date from 1887, when its present site was located by a Mr. Sproat. In the following year, using a rope and some pickets, he roughly subdivided it into town lots, which sold readily. The first name of the city was Salisbury, after Lord Salisbury, then Stanley after Governor General Lord Stanley of Preston. Later in the year, 1888, it was named Nelson after Hon. Hugh Nelson (1830-1896) then Lieutenant Governor of B.C. Information from J. A. Gibson, postmaster, also Schooling (Sir Wm.) The Hudson's Bay Co., 1670-1920, London, 1920. Post office opened 1 August, 1889.

New Westminster was the name given to the capital of the new colony of British Columbia by Queen Victoria, 20 July, 1859. The site was selected in January of the same year by Col. R. C. Moody. On 5 February Governor Douglas wrote to the Colonial Secretary, expressing a desire that Queen Victoria would signify her will as to the name to be given, mentioning that meantime it had been determined to distinguish it by the name of Queensborough. On 5 May the Colonial Secretary replied that Her Majesty had been graciously pleased to decide that the capital should be called New Westminster. Accts & Papers, Colonies 1859. Vol. XXII. On 19 November, 1866, the two colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver island were united as British Columbia, and in 1868 the capital was removed to Victoria. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names. First record of post office appears in Postal Guide, 1877. From another record it is stated that a general post office was established on the main land late in 1864 with New Westminster as headquarters.

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8 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

North Vancouver post office opened in March or April, 1874, under the name of Moody ville; post office name changed to North Vancouver 1 August, 1902. Moodyville was further up the inlet than present North Vancouver. See Vancouver.

Port Alberni is situated at the head of Alberni canal, one mile south of Alberni. Post office opened 1 December, 1900, under the name of New Alberni; name changed to Port Alberni 1 March, 1910. See Alberni.

Port Coquitlam. Post office opened 1 March, 1891, under the name of Coquitlam 1 July, 1913. The name Coquitlam is that of a Salish tribe in the locality speaking the Cowichan dialect.

Port Moody, Burrard inlet, commemorates Major-General Richard Clement Moody (1813-87), commissioner of lands and works of B.C., 1858-63. It was named in 1860 by Captain Richards, H.M. surveying vessel Plumper, Port Moody was originally the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but lost much of its importance when the railroad was extended to Vancouver in. 1886. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names. Post office opened 1 October, 1882.

Prince Rupert was named in 1906 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Co. on the establishment of the western terminus of the Company's transcon- tinental line after Prince Rupert, first governor of the Hudson's Bay Co. The name was selected by open competition, the prize offered by the railway company for a suitable name being $250. Post office opened 1 December, 1906.

Revelstoke commemorates the first Lord Revelstoke, head of the British banking firm of Baring Bros., whose taking over of $15,000,000 of the first bond issue of the Canadian Pacific Railway was an important event in its financial history; name first applied to Canadian Pacific Railway station. Post office opened 1 February, 1886, as Farwell, name of railway contractor, name changed 1 June, 1886, to Revelstoke.

Rossland takes its name from Ross Thompson, native of Bruce county, Ont., one time prospector; in 1893 pre-empted a portion of land on which the city now stands. Post office opened 1 March, 1895.

Salmon Arm takes its name from Salmon arm of Shuswap lake, where quan- tities of salmon were caught by the Indians. Post office opened 1 November, 1890.

Trail is named after Trail creek, which takes its name from the Dewdney trail which follows the course of the creek to the Columbia river; from 1894 to 1901 known as Trail Creek. Post office opened 1 July, 1891, under the name of Trail Creek; name changed to Trail 1 January, 1897.

Vancouver, before the Canadian Pacific Railway reached it in 1886 was a small collection of houses named Granville. In that year the city was incor- porated under the name of Vancouver in honor of Captain George Vancouver (1757-1798) who ninety four years before had explored and named Burrard inlet. Reference, Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names. Post office opened March or April, 1874, under the name Granville and the name changed 1 May 1886 to Vancouver.

Vernon was originally known as Priests Valley, then as Centreville and finally the name was changed to the present one in the 80's after Forbes G. Vernon (sometime British Columbia Minister of Mines) and his brother Charles, both of whom owned large properties in the district. Information from C. Lafroy, postmaster, Post office opened 1 November, 1884, under the name of Priests Valley; name changed to Vernon, 1 November, 1887.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA g

Victoria, capital of the united provinces of Vancouver island and British Columbia since 1868, commemorates Queen Victoria. The Hudson's Bay Co. trading post at this point, the foundation of the future city, was established in 1843 by a minute of council of the Northern Department of Ruperts Land on a site selected in 1841 and was ordered to be named fort Victoria. The place was known to the Indians as Camosun or Camosack. The town was laid out in 1851-52 and was called Victoria. Publications of Canadian Archives, No. 9, The Canadian Northwest, Ottawa 1915, p. 862. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names. No record of opening of post office. There was a mail service arranged for Victoria in 1858 from San Francisco.

MANITOBA.

Brandon takes its name from Brandon house, a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Co. founded in 1794 on the Assiniboine river, seventeen miles below the present city. Several years before Brandon house was named, the head of the Douglases, the 8th Duke of Hamilton, had taken his seat in the House of Lords as Duke of Brandon, Suffolk, and the name of the trading post probably com- memorates the family's connection with the Hudson's Bay Co. When Thos. Douglas, fifth Earl of Selkirk succeeded in buying 116,000 square miles of land from the company in 1811 he and his friends, it is said, held more than $175,000 worth of stock out of the whole $525,000. Everything goes to show that the family held largely of Hudson's Bay Co. stock before the young Earl came into his inheritance in 1799 and that he was led to take steps to emigrate to Ruperts land from this circumstance. Information from Rev. George Bryce, Winnipeg. Brandon hills to the south of the city are found first so named on the map accompanying the report of the Hind Assiniboine and Saskatchewan Exploring Expedition in the year 1858, when the terms Blue hills of Brandon or Moose Head mountain are used. Post office opened 1 November, 1880.

Portage-la-Prairie is French for prairie portage. It was hereabouts that the fur traders crossed from the Assiniboine river to lake Manitoba. The portage was also known as Meadow portage (Thompson) and the Plain portage (Harmon). Post office opened between July and October, 1871. The locality is mentioned by Verendrye in his journal for 1739 as a carrying place from the Assiniboine over to lake Manitoba used by the Assiniboine Indians on their trading expeditions to the English posts at Hudson bay. The city stands on the Assiniboine river at the south end of the portage, where Verendrye built fort La Reine in 1738. It continued to be one of the chief trading ports of the French in the west until the cession of Canada to Great Britain. Since that it has been occupied from time to time by traders. In 1832 a post was established by the Hudson's Bay Co. on the bank of the Assiniboine about two miles from the centre of the present city. The post was moved to the west end of the city l£ miles from the old site in 1866-67 and moved again in 1870 to Saskatchewan avenue. Destroyed by fire in 1913 it has not been rebuilt. Information from Fur Trade Commissioner, Hudson's Bay Co., Winnipeg.

St. Boniface commemorates an English missionary called the apostle of Germany. It originated with Abb6 (later Bishop) Joseph Norbert Provencher who, with Rev. Severe Dumoulin reached Red River in 1818 to attend to the spiritual needs of the Roman Catholic settlers. These included members of a Swiss regiment, which under Lt.-Colonel De Meuron had been brought to Canada to assist in the war against the United States and had been stationed at

10 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Montreal for a time. That part of Abbe* Provencher's house which was to serve as a temporary chapel was used for the first time as such on All bamts Day 1818. The chapel was placed "under the patronage of St. Boniface, in order to draw God's blessings on the German Meurons, Catholics none too fervent, through the intercession of the Apostle of their nation. By extension the name was soon applied to the little Catholic settlement, January 15, 1819, is the very first time that we see that place thus denominated m Provencher s correspondence." Reference Morice, History of the Catholic Church in Western Canada, Toronto, 1910.

Winnipeg is Indian for muddy water, a name applied to lake Winnipeg, which is turbid after a storm. Fort Garry, Hudson's Bay Co. fort, was the nucleus of the city of Winnipeg. The name is first found on the title page of the North-Wester of 24 February, 1866. The previous issue is headed Red River Settlement, Assiniboia. The first house in Winnipeg was built in 1862. Maps of 1870 show the "town of Winnipeg." Post office opened in or about 1870 under the name of Fort Garry; name changed to Winnipeg, 1 May, 1876. Dr. King in his "Narrative of a Journey to the Arctic" states that the Indians ascribe the muddy character of the lake to a deity who, in some way having annoyed them, was taken captive by an elderly woman and so besmeared with every kind of dirt that it took all the^ water of the lake to purify him, and by way of retaliation he has ever since employed himself in keeping up the discoloration occasioned by that event.

NEW BRUNSWICK

Fredericton commemorates the second son of George III. On 22 February, 1785, Thomas Carleton, the first governor of the province of New Brunswick, formed in 1784 by detaching a portion from Nova Scotia, formulated in council a series of regulations "for the speedy building and orderly settlement of a town at St. Anne's point on the River St. John, to be called Frederick Town, after His Royal Highness the Bishop of Osnaburg"; named a year or two earlier Osnaburg by Loyalist settlers; prior to this known as St. Anne's.

Moncton, commemorates, no doubt, Lt.-Gen. the Hon. Robert Monckton, who was wounded in the battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759; died 1782. The township of Monckton was named, 1765. The parish of Moncton was erected, 1786. As a township, from 1755-85 it was always spelled Monckton. The New Brunswick Law of 1786 establishing the Parishes, calls it Moncton, presumably by clerical error and such it has ever since remained.

St. John takes its name from the river discovered by Champlain on St. John Baptist's day, 24 June, 1604. Its charter dates from 18 May, 1785, the second anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists within its limits. It was known for the first two years as Parr or Parrtown, a name given to it by request of Governor Parr of Nova Scotia. The part of the present city lying west of the harbour was named Carleton in 1784, in honour of Sir Guy Carleton (Baron Dorchester), commander in chief of the British forces in North America Report on Canadian Archives, 1894, p. 413. The name was dropped on its union with St. John, (it was previously a separate municipality) in 1889, since which it has been known as St. John West, West St. John. The name Carleton, how- ever, still survives in common usage, where the Carleton side of the harbour is referred to. Information from Professor W. F. Ganong, Northampton, Mass., and H. Vroom, St. Stephen, N.B.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 11

NOVA SCOTIA

Halifax was founded, 1749, at the expense of the Imperial government under the direction of the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, and was named after George Montague Dunk, second Earl of Halifax, first Lord Commissioner. The scheme for a settlement is said to have originated with the people of Massachusetts, who in calling the attention of the government to the claims and encroachments of the French on the territory of Acadia, suggested the necessity as well as the great commercial advantage to be derived from such an undertaking. A plan was accordingly submitted to the government in the autumn of 1748, and being warmly supported by Lord Halifax, advertisements soon appeared under sanction of His Majesty's authority offering to convey to Nova Scotia army and navy veterans and workmen generally, to maintain them for twelve months at the public expense and to supply them with arms and ammunition for defence and with materials and articles proper for clearing the land, erecting dwellings and prosecuting the fishery. In a short time 1,176 settlers and their families volunteered, and Parliament voting £40,000 (the first of several grants), early in May, 1749, thirteen transports and a sloop of war, under the command of the Honourable Edward Cornwallis, M.P., appointed captain-general and governor of Nova Scotia 9 May, 1749, sailed for that country. The town was laid out and the plan completed 14 September, 1849. The settlers drew for their lots. T. B. Akins' Prize Essay on the History of the Settlement of Halifax. Halifax 1847. Micmac Indian name for Bedford basin, Chebooktook. Micmac name for actual site of the town Gwowamicktook (White Pine forest). The main entrance to Halifax harbour is "Dwidden," the big passage.

Sydney was established 1783 by Governor Des Barres and named after Thomas Townshend, Viscount Sydney, 1732-1800, secretary for the colonies. Micmac Indian name Egchigank.

ONTARIO

Belleville, Hastings county, was^etrfveyed and laid out in 1816; in early documents the name is spelled Belldfville; this spelling prevails on the old tokens of the Church of Scotland and alsd'on the silver communion sets of St. Andrews church, the oldest in the district; may have been named after Colonel Bell, one of the original patentees of the Thurlow lots. Scadding says Governor Francis Gore, Lt. Governor of Upper Canada 1806-11, 1815-17 was appealed to and named it after his wife Arabella, whom he addressed familiarly as Belle. Previous to 1816 Belleville was known as Meyers Creek.

Brantford, Brant county, is situated on what was the Six Nation Indian Reserve at the point where the Indians were accustomed to cross the Grand river, known as Brant's ford, after their leader, Joseph Brant (Thayendanaga) 1742-1807. The Indians surrendered the townplot to the Government » Apnl, 1830. The first lot sold by the government was to Wm. Muirhead, 15 October, 1830, being lot eight on the north side of Colborne street. Brant's Ford or The Ferry was for many years the name applied to the village.

At Chatham, Kent county, mouth of the Thames, 600 acres were reserved for a townplot by Governor Simcoe in 1795. The town, however, may be said to have commenced only in 1834. It is named after Chatham, England. Thames and all the towns about London had names taken from the district in England.

12 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fort William commemorates Wm. McGillivray, one of the leading members of the North West Company who directed the construction of the fort on the Kaministikwia river to serve as the company's headquarters instead of Grand Portage in Minnesota. Apparently the movement began in 1801. Building went on in 1802 and 1803. In the latter year the fort was complete, but dwelling houses had still to be erected. Harmon notes there were 1,000 labouring men there in July, 1805. He calls it the "New Fort" in this year. Coues, New light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest, New York, 1897, p. 222. A letter from George H. Monk, dated Leech lake, April 18, 1807 (Masson Papers, McGill university) refers to "Fort William." Wm. McGillivray succeeded Peter Pond as a partner in the North West Company about 1790; member of the House of Assembly of Lower Canada 18 June, 1808-2 October, 1909 for Montreal West; member Legislative Council of Lower Canada 19 June, 1814- 16 October, 1825, on which date he died in Scotland.

Gait, Waterloo county, takes its name from John Gait (1779-1839), the Scottish novelist. He was commissioner of the Canada Company and lived in Canada from 1826 to 1829. The city was founded by Wm. Dickson, a school fellow of Gait, and Gait post office was opened in 1816. However, the settlers called the village (Absalom) Shade's Mills till 1827 when it was changed on the

occasion of a visit from the novelist. "On the 22nd of April I went to

Gait which my friend the Honourable William Dickson .named after

me long before the Canada Company was imagined; it was arrived at the maturity of having a post office before I heard of its existence."

Guelph, Wellington county, was named by John Gait, 23 April, 1827, after the family name of the Royal House of Brunswick. It was after sunset when the site selected for the town was reached. There "a large maple tree was chosen: on which, taking an ax from one of the woodmen, I struck the first stroke ....

after the tree fell the doctor pulled a flask of whisky from his bosom and

we drank prosperity to the city of Guelph. The name was chosen in compliment to the Royal Family, both because I thought it auspicious in itself, and because I could not recollect that it had ever been before used in all the King's dominions."

Hamilton, Went worth county, is named after George Hamilton, son of Honourable Robert Hamilton who moved to the district from Niagara in 1812 and bought land there. In 1813 he divided a portion of his farm into building lots and his surname was given to the village. The first lots sold were on John street, south of King. Ont. Hist. Socy. Papers and Records Vol. Ill, 1907, p. 24-33.

Kingston, Frontenac county, occupies the site of the Indian village of Cataraqui and of the French fort Frontenac built there, 1673. On 11 September, 1783, General Haldimand wrote to John Collins, land surveyor, that it was his "intention to establish settlements for the provision of part of the distressed loyalists resorting to this province and in the neighbourhood of Cataraqui upon lake Ontario" and directing Collins "to proceed to that place without loss of time for the purpose of surveying and laying out the several lands in townships and lots." Township No. 1, now known as Kingston was outlined the same year and subdivided in 1784. With the opening of spring in the latter year, settlers took up locations on the surveyed lands. In 1785 there were fifty houses in Kingston. Ont. Archives Rep. 1905, p. LXIX. Documents quoted in Ontario Archives Report dated 1786, 1787, 5 May, 1788, refer to the town as "Cataraqui." A letter dated Quebec, 7 July, 1788, and signed John Collins, deputy surveyor general, refers to "Kingston." Ont. Archives Rep. 1905, p. 309. The city name appears to antedate the township name and to have been given some time after the Loyalist settlement in honor of George III.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 13

Kitchener, Waterloo county was named in 1916 after Lord Kitchener, earlier it was known as Berlin. The origin of the city is described as follows: in "Busy Berlin", a jubilee souvenir pamphlet issued in 1897; — "Joseph Schneider

a native of Pennsylvania first settled on the site in 1807. Joseph and

Jacob Shantz took up adjoining tracts in 1808 and Benjamin Eby about

the same year. The location was then often called the Sand Hills and later

Mt. Pleasant Early in the Thirties a group of villagers

were one evening seated in the village inn, discussing the matter of a name, when

two strangers walked in and called for refreshments 'Where are you

from' was asked. 'Berlin, Germany and we are looking for homes.' 'Then,' said the questioner 'Settle here and Berlin shall be the name of this village'."

London, Middlesex county, on the Thames is named after London, England. It was laid out in 1826 on land visited in 1793 and reserved by Governor Simcoe and settlement commenced in 1827. Simcoe wished to call it Georgina after King George III. His successor preferred the name London. London town- ship, surveyed in 1796 by A. Iredell, was known by name years before any other name than "The Forks" was applied to the site of the present city.

The city of Niagara Falls, Welland county, has not the antiquity of the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lincoln county, fourteen miles distant. The latter was settled by Loyalists about 1782, and selected by Simcoe in 1792 as the capital of Upper Canada, and named by him, Newark. Niagara Falls owes its importance to being an international gateway, and to its proximity to the falls. It was formerly known as Clifton or Suspension Bridge. Niagara is an Indian word of uncertain meaning.

Ottawa, Carleton county, was so named in 1854 after the river on which it stands. The name commemorates an Indian tribe living in the early part of the seventeenth century on Manitoulin island and the shores of Georgian bay. The Ottawas, whose name comes from "adawe" to trade, were noted as inter- tribal traders and barterers. They claimed exclusive control of the Ottawa river reached by way of lake Nipissing, which was the trade route to Montreal and, says the Jesuit Relation for 1667, it was for this reason that, although very different in nationality, all those who went to the French to trade, bore the name Ottawa, under whose auspices the, journey was undertaken. Queen Victoria selected Ottawa as the capital of the Dominion in 1857.

The report of the Bureau of Archives, Ontario, for 1905, contains a copy of a minute of the Land Committee dated, Quebec, 5 August, 1791, recommend- ing that "the Scite of a Town may be laid off at the forks of the River Reddo, as delineated in a plan drawn by Mr. Chewett, 28 March, 1791, and referred to by the Land Office Board of Lunenburg, to serve as a Town Plot in the Center of four adjoining Townships, two on each side of the Main Branch of the aforesaid River. ..." Lord Dorchester, the governor general approved of the recommenda- tion. The land upon which the present city of Ottawa originally stood com- prised six lots, three lots of concession C and three lots of Concession D, the boundary line between them being Cumberland street. Grace McQueen received the patent of two of these in 1801, a tract of land extending from Laune Ave. to Gladstone and Bronson Ave. to Rideau river. In 1802 Jacob Carmar received a patent of two lots comprising the area between Pooley's Bridge i the Rideau between Ottawa and Cathcart streets on the north and Wellington anc Rideau on the south, which included Parliament hill and Major Hill pa The intervening lots were obtained by John Burrows. W. H. Smith in Canada Past, Present and Future (Toronto, 1851) says of Ottawa "In the year 1826 not a house was standing within its present limits except one old loi house where the Upper Town has since been erected, and three houses on wni

14 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

was then known as Nepean Point, near the Union Bridge." Ottawa practically came into existence in 1827, in the spring of which year Col. By broke the first sod in the construction of the Rideau canal, to unite the Ottawa river and lake Ontario, which took six years to complete. By 1828 there were 38 stores and 150 houses. The village came to be known as Bytown. Another boom came in 1837 when the first timber slides were constructed and Bytown became a lumbering centre. At this time there were two small villages of Upper and Lower Town separated by a wooded spur of the hill. As stated the name Bytown was changed to Ottawa, when it was incorporated as a city, 18 Dec. 1854. Much earlier a weekly paper entitled the "Ottawa Advocate" had been published in Bytown. Post office opened as Bytown, 1829; name changed to Ottawa, January, 1855.

Owen Sound was known as Sydenham after the township of that name till 1 January, 1857, when the act incorporating the "town of Owen Sound," assented to 16 May, 1856, became operative. W. H. Smith in "Canada, Past, Present and Future," Toronto, 1851, speaks of Sydenham village as "commenced about nine years ago." At this time there was a newspaper, the "Owen Sound Comet," published in the village. The Canadian Pacific Railway Company lake steamer City of Owen Sound was built at Owen Sound in 1875 and ran under this name till 1886 when she ran ashore at Clapperton island. Owen Sound was incorporated as a city in 1920. It is named after the sound which commemo- rates Admiral Sir Edward William Campbell Richard Owen (1771-1849). As commodore, he was for a time commander in chief of H.M. ships and vessels on the great lakes, returning to England 1815-16. His brother Vice Admiral William Fitzwilliam Owen (1774-1857) made surveys of the Great lakes under his direction.

Peterborough, Peterborough county, commemorates Peter Robinson, who in 1825 came in charge of 2,000 immigrants and founded the town. It was previously known as Indian Plain or Scott's Landing. The Indian name was Nogojiwanong.

Port Arthur, Thunder Bay district, was named Prince Arthur's Landing by Wolseley in 1870, after Prince Arthur, now Duke of Connaught, then serving with the Rifle Brigade in Montreal. In 1883 the name was changed to the present one to correspond with Port Moody,' the then accepted western terminal of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Extract from "Correspondence relative to the Recent Expedition to the Red River settlement; with Journal of operations presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, 1871"

p. 55. "Wednesday, May 25, 1870 Landed troops and camp equipment

immediately and Colonel Wolseley named the place 'Prince Arthur's Landing,' in honour of His Royal Highness." On their way west the troops were told that they were going to "Thunder Bay" or "Fort William" of "Dawson's land- ing" or "the other end of the lake." "Dawson's landing" seems to have been the proper name of the place before Wolseley's arrival. There Dawson had a small wharf and there the Dawson road commenced. At the time the only buildings were those of the Public Works Department, one general store and a couple of small dwelling houses. S. J. Dawson C.E. proposed a scheme for a road by land and water from lake Superior to Red River settlement in 1859. The government adopted it in 1867. In his Report, p. 11, Ottawa, 1868,Dawson calls the starting place of the route "The Depot" situated on "Thunder bay about three miles to the eastward of the mouth of the Kaministaquia and at this point, there is in my opinion, every facility for constructing wharves and forming a perfectly safe harbour."

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA

15

St. Catharines, Lincoln county. Somewhere between 1791-94 an episcopal church mission station was established in Grantham township where St Cathar- ines now is and the heading of a subscription list in 1796 in connection with this church contains the first known reference to the name. The heading reads as

follows: —

"1796 Apinement to the Church at St. Catherines with the Respective

sums next to their Names."

Feb. 17

On this Canon Broughall, makes the following comment: — "The first word may be assinement (?) The second letter instead of a 'p' may be the old way of writing ss. Compare the way Catherines is spelt above. The V in St. Cathar- ines in each case might almost be 'i.' The writing is evidently not that of a particularly well educated person." St. Catharines commemorates Mrs. Catharine Askin Robertson (died 1796), the first wife of Honourable Robert Hamilton, who married in the following year Mrs. Mary Herkimer McLean, also a widow. Honourable Robert Hamilton, who died in 1809, is described as a merchant of Niagara, a member of the first executive council of Upper Canada in 1791 and the first judge of the district of Nassau, which extended from river Trent on the bay of Quinte to Long point, Lake Erie. Information from Miss Janet Carnochan, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canon L. W. B. Broughall, St. Cathar- ines and Rev. R. Ker's book "St. George's Parish," a historic and centenary review.

St. Thomas, Elgin county, commemorates Colonel Thomas Talbot (1771- 1853) sometime private secretary to Governor Simcoe, who received a grant of 5,000 acres in the county and settled there in 1803, subsequently bringing in other settlers. The first two log houses on the site of St. Thomas were built about 1810 by Daniel Rapelje and David Mandeville. Ermatinger says: "St.

Thomas in 1817 was no more than a hamlet, chiefly under the hill at the

extreme west end of the present city. The hamlet in the valley was at one period called Stirling, but as the village crept up the hill and along the crest of the heights immediately above Kettle creek, it acquired the name of St. Thomas, after Thomas Talbot." Ermatinger (C.O.) K.C. The Talbot Regime, St. Thomas, 1904.

Sarnia, Lambton county, is the Roman name of the isle of Guernsey where Sir John Colborne was governor before he came to Canada. The town was surveyed, laid out, and first settled in 1833, and called "The Rapids," after the rapids at the foot of lake Huron; in 1836 it was enlarged by Hon. Malcolm Cameron and others, and the name was changed to port Sarnia after the township; it was changed to the present name in 1886.

Sault Ste. Marie, Algoma district, takes its name from the rapids in the St Mary river and was so named by French missionaries who in 1640 founded the mission of "Sainte Marie du Saut." Previously it was known as Sault Gaston, after the younger brother of Louis XIII; this is the name on I plain's map, 1632.

Stratford, Perth county, was a town on paper in the Canada Company's offices before a house was built on the Avon. In 1831 one Wm. Sergeant was presented by the Company with a lot in the proposed town on condition starting a tavern there. Thus Stratford came into being. It was mcorporal in 1853. It is named after Stratford-on-Avon, England.

16 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Toronto is an Indian name originally applied to lake Simcoe. The lake, for instance, is called lac de Toronto on an anonymous map of date 1679 in the library of the De"pot de la Marine Paris, entitled "carte de la region situe"e aux environs du lac Ontario ou de Frontenac." From lake Simcoe it was extended at an early date through the Severn river, also named Toronto to the lower part of Georgian bay, and even to the whole bay. Later through the use of the portage from lake Simcoe to Toronto via the Humber, the name was extended to the lake Ontario end of the portage. Similarly Rice lake and other lakes on the upper waters of the Trent river were first called Kentio or Quento, which name was afterwards carried down the Trent to the bay into which it entered, with the same modern result as in the case of Toronto. The meaning of the word is disputed. J. S. Clark deals with it at length in the Archaeological Report for Ontario for 1899.

Welland, Welland county, formerly known as Merrittsville, takes its name from the nearby Welland river, which itself was named in 1792 by proclamation of Governor Simcoe after the Welland river, Lincolnshire, England.

Windsor, Essex county, laid out in 1834, takes its name from Windsor England.

Woodstock, Oxford county, surveyed and laid out in 1833, was named after Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

Prince Edward Island was known as St. John island till 1799. As early as 1780 confusion caused by the resemblance of the name to St. Johns, city Newfoundland and St. John city, New Brunswick, had led Governor Patterson to propose that it be changed to New Ireland and an act was passed for the purpose 17 July, 1780, but disallowed, the reason given being that the name of New Ireland was already appropriated. In November, 1798, an act with a suspending clause was passed by the provincial legislature to change the name to Prince Edward after the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, then in command of the troops at Halifax, N.S. The order was confirmed by the King 5 February, 1799, receipt of the order in council to that effect being acknowledged by Gov. Fanning on 13 June, 1799, on which day the name appears to have been first used in official despatches from the governor. Report on Canadian Archives in 1895. Rand gives the Micmac Indian name of the island as Abag- weit, Abegweit, Apagwit or Epagwit and the meaning as "Home on the wave." The island owes the names of its counties and county towns to King George III, who directed the settlement of the island after its cession to Great Britain in 1763. In 1764 Captain Holland, surveyor general of the Northern District of America made a survey of the island and names were given in commemoration of the Royal Family as follows: Kings county, Georgetown, capital; Queens county, Charlottetown, capital; Prince county, Princetown (after Prince Edward, Duke of Kent) . Of Princetown, Rev. G. Sutherland writing 1861 says— "The ploughshare still turns up the sod, where it was intended the busy thorough- fare should be. There is no present prospect of the original intention being realised." The capital of Prince county is now Summerside.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 17

QUEBEC

Granby, Shefford county, takes its name from the township shown by name on a map of part of Lower Canada by Samuel Gale and J. B. Duberger, 1795, as one of the townships ordered to be laid out in 1792 and 1793. The village of Granby was erected by proclamation 1 July, 1858, effective 1 January, 1859.

Hull, Ottawa county, takes its name from the township shown by name on a map of part of Lower Canada by Samuel Gale and J. B. Duberger, 1795, as one of the townships ordered to be laid out in 1792 and 1793. The city was first known as Wright village after Philemon Wright, (1760-1839), the pioneer settler in the township. Wright paid a visit to the township in 1797 and permanently settled in it in 1800. He surveyed it in 1801. The name Hull has no connection with the Wright family. See The White Chief of the Ottawa, by Bertha Wright Carr-Harris, Toronto, 1903. Post office opened 1819.

Joliette, Joliette county, was the name assented to 15 October, 1863, for the village of Industrie founded by Hon. Barthelemy Joliette, (1787-1850) M.P., who built a mill on the riviere L'Assomption, 1823-24.

The name of Lachine, Jacques Cartier county, dates from 1669 when La Salle set out from the fort there for China. The name was given derisively. Montreal marriage registers for 2 January, 1673, refer to the marriage of a "habitant de la Chine."

LeVis, Levis county, commemorates Francois Gaston, marquis de Levis, Marshal of France who won the last French victory in Canada at the battle of Ste. Foy; died in 1787. The act founding the town was assented to 18 May, 1861. The adjacent point Le*vy commemorates Henri de LeVy, due de Venta- dour, viceroy of New France, 1625-27. The name is first mentioned by Cham- plain who in narrating the arrival of the Kirkes before Quebec in 1629 says: "My servant told me he had seen the said English vessels a league from our habitation, behind cape Le*vy (derri£re le cap de LeVy) ; on Champlain map, 1632.

Maisonneuve, Hochelaga county, is named after Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, founder of Montreal. In 1918 it was annexed to Montreal.

Montreal, Hochelaga county, Quebec, takes its name from the mountain at whose base it lies, named Mont Royal by Jacques Cartier in 1535. The city was founded 17 May, 1642. Champlain had selected the site thirty-one years before as adapted for a settlement.

Outremont, Jacques Cartier county, dates from 23 February, 1875, when it replaced the name C6te-Ste. Catherine. The name was suggested by that of the home of the Le Bouthillier family, the principal residence in the village. The house was probably so called because "on the other side of Mt. Royal."

Quebec is an Indian word meaning "The river narrows here." It is the oldest city in Canada, having been founded in 1608 when Champlain built a fort (Abitation de Quebec) where he spent the ensuing winter. Seventy-three years earlier Jacques Cartier had sailed up the St. Lawrence and landed near the same spot, wintering in a creek not far from the native town of Stadacone.

Riviere-du-Loup, Temiscouata county, is the official name given 4 March, 1919 to Fraserville. Earlier it was the popular name. It is derived from that of the river which is so called on Jaillot's map, 1685. The village of Fraserville was proclaimed 26 June, 1850. The name was in existence much earlier as that of a range of concession.

18 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

St. Johns (English usage) or St. Jean (French usage) Iberville county, Quebec, commemorates fort St. Jean constructed in 1748. A parish was formed in 1828 and the village erected by proclamation 20 July, 1848.

St. Hyacinthe, St. Hyacinthe county is named after Hyacinthe-Simon Delorme, who bought the seigniory, 1753. Bouchette "Topographical Diction- ary" London, 1815, mentions it as a village of 80 to 90 houses.

Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke county, "derived its name, in 1818 from Sir John Sherbrooke, then Governor-General who is said to have visited the village at that time. There is no authentic record of his ever having made the visit. Previous to that time it was known as the Lower Forks." L.S. Channell "History of Compton County," Cookshire, 1896.

Sorel, Richelieu county, commemorates the sieur de Saurel or Sorel, who, 21 October, 1672, obtained a concession of lands surrounding fort Richelieu, whose construction in 1665, at this point, he had superintended.

Thetford Mines, Megantic county, formed in 1878 after the discovery of asbestos in the township of Thetford is named after the latter, which itself, is shown by name on a map of part of Lower Canada by Samuel Gale and J. B. Duberger, 1795, as one of the townships ordered to be laid out in 1792 and 1793. It is named after Thetford, Norfolk, England.

Three Rivers (English usage) Trois-Rivieres (French usage) St. Maurice county, Quebec, was the name given by French traders before Champlain's time, to the St. Maurice river, which enters the St. Lawrence at the city by three mouths.

Valleyfield, or more properly Salaberry of Valleyfield, Beauharnois county, dates its prosperity from 1853 when Mr. Thomas F. Miller of MacDonald, Logan & Miller, Portneuf, Quebec, went to what was then known as pointe du Lac or pointe aux Voleurs, to start a paper industry, there being at this place excellent water power; the erection of the paper mills, begun in 1853 and com- pleted in 1854, made the place quite a village and when a name was in question Mr. Miller suggested Valleyfield in honor of his then manager, John Green who had come direct from the Valleyfield Paper Mills of Alex. Cowan & Sons near Edinburgh, Scotland; this was accepted and the new village designated Valley- field. Mr. Miller formed a partnership with Alexander Buntin, but retired in 1856, when Alexander and James Buntin continued the business. In 1861 James Buntin died and Alex. Buntin became sole proprietor; for more than 25 years these paper mills were the most prominent industry in Valleyfield; after having been operated as paper mills for 46 years, the site and power wras bought by The Montreal Cottons, to be used for the extension of the large cotton factories. It is the proud record of the Buntin Paper Mills that during their 46 years of operation, they never experienced a strike nor missed a pay-day. In 1855 the Roman Catholic Parish of Ste. Ce"cile was erected at this point by Mgr. Bourget. The official cadastre de La Seigneurie de Beauharnois, 1860, has the following heading over Column of land, proprietors along Main street, Valleyfield, viz.— Catherinestown (Village de Ste. Ce*cile ou Valleyfield). When the town was incorporated there was a division of opinion as to a name. This led to a compromise, and Salaberry of Valleyfield was made the official name, but in all matters of correspondence the word Valleyfield only is used. This also applies to the post office, the railway stations, and is also recognized by L'EvSque de Valleyfield. Communicated by Honorable James A. Robb, M.P.

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 19

Verdun, Jacques Cartier county, was first known as Cdte-de-Gentilly, later it was called Verdun, probably by La Salle in honor of Verdun, France. In 1830 it was named La Riviere-St. Pierre. P. G. Roy "Les Noms Ge*ographiques de la Province de Quebec" LeVis, 1906. An act changing the name anew to Verdun was assented to 28 December, 1876.

Westmount, Hochelaga county, was originally Notre-Dame-de-Gr&ces. Assent was given to a change of name to C6te-St-Antoine, 31 October, 1879, and again to Westmount, 12 January, 1895. The name refers to the location rela- tively to Mount Royal.

SASKATCHEWAN

Moose Jaw takes its name from Moose Jaw creek, which Captain Palliser reached 16 September, 1857, and where he found a Cree Indian encampment. Palliser's Journal for the month refers several times to Moose Jaw creek. The name Moose Jaw creek appears on the Palliser map lithographed by John Arrow- smith, 1859. Moose Jaw's fork is the name on H. Y. Hind Expedition map, Legislative Assembly, Toronto, 1859, and Jaw Bone river that on S. T. Dawson's map published by Legislative Assembly, Toronto, in the same year. The present Indian name is Monsochapiskanis sipi signifying Moose Jaw creek. The name is popularly derived from a supposed Indian name which means literally "The place where the white man mended the cart wheel with the jaw of the moose" and the white man is variously named as Lord Dunmore and the Earl of Mulgrave. No evidence to support these traditions can be found. The first settlers arrived in the spring of 1882. The Canadian Pacific Railway reached Moose Jaw in the fall of the same year. Post office opened 1 June, 1883.

North Battleford lies upon the bank of the river immediately north of Battleford, which was capital of the Northwest Territories from 1877 to 1883, taking its name from its position at the "ford of Battle" river, on which in early days the Indians fought many battles. The growth of North Battleford at the expense of Battleford is due to the fact that the Canadian Northern Rail- way line to Edmonton was run on the north side of the river. Post office opened 12 September, 1905.

Prince Albert was named in 1866 after the Prince Consort by Rev. James Nisbet (died 1874) who established a Presbyterian mission station in the locality in that year. Previously there were perhaps half a dozen settlers in the district, which was un-named or went by the general term of Saskatchewan River Settle- ment. Post office opened 1 January, 1879.

Regina is Latin for "queen" and commemorates Queen Victoria. The name was suggested in 1882 by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, the Queen's daughter and wife of the Governor General. When a southern route across the prairies was chosen for the Canadian Pacific railway it became expedient to remove the capital of the Northwest Territories from Battleford to a central point on the line. W. D. Barclay, C.E., ran the survey line for the railway across the Waskana, then known as Pile of Bones creek, Tp. 17- R 20- W 2nd, at present Regina, 13 May, 1882. The only settlers he found in the vicinity of the crossing were Thos. Sinclair Gore and Henry George Forsyth on section 24 and John Scott Johnson on section 18. On 24 June, 1882, the Saskatchewan Herald, Battleford, announced that the crossing had been selected by Lieutenant Governor Dewdney as the site of a new seat of government and headquarters of the Royal Northwest Mounted police whose chief station then was fort Walsh. On June 30, Lt. Gov. Dewdney issued the following proclamation:—

20 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

NOTICE

I hereby give notice that all government land in Township 17, range 20, west of 2nd meridian is Reserved and will continue to be so until otherwise ordered. By order E. Dewdney, Lieutenant Governor. Pile of Bones,

June 30, 1882.

On 1 August, Sir John A. Macdonald, Minister of Interior, telegraphed to the Deputy minister at Ottawa from Rivi&re-du-Loup :—

"Hope you have sent instructions to reserve township and a half at Pile Bones creek. John A. Macdonald."

On August 7 and 8 Wm. Pearce of the Dominion Lands staff reserved Tp. 17-R- 20-W 2nd and the west \ of Tp. 17-R 19- W 2nd and advised the squatters on them, now numbering 39 to change their locations. Apparently the governor general was appealed to for a name to replace that of Pile of Bones, for in a letter of date 14 September, 1910, he writes: — "I remember well the Princess suggesting Regina and my writing the telegram in answer to an enquiry from Ottawa as to how to christen the 'Pile of Bones' with a more attractive title." The railway reached Regina 23 August, 1882. Correspondence in Ottawa relating to Dominion Lands contains a telegram from Winnipeg dated 30 Septem- ber in which reference is made to Regina. The name Pile of Bones creek was changed to Waskana in the fall of the year following a suggestion of General Sir Sam Steele, then an officer in the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, Waskana being the Sioux Indian for "Pile of Bones." Captain Palliser reached Waskana creek 15 September, 1857, and calls it "The creek where the bones lie." On the maps accompanying the reports it is called "Many-bone" creek. On S. J. Dawson Expedition map, Legislative Assembly, Toronto, 1859, the creek is called "Where the bones lie." On H. Y. Hind Expedition map, Legislative Assembly, Toronto, 1859, it is called "Elbow Bone creek." The reference is doubtless to buffalo bones. John McDonnell, Journal, 18 May, 1795, reports counting in one day the carcasses of 7,360 drowned buffaloes when descending Qu'Appelle river. On this subject Mr. Wm. Pearce, who, as inspector of Domin- ion Land Offices, saw Regina both before and after the railway reached it, writes : "The preliminary line for the railway in the neighbourhood of Regina run in 1881 crossed Pile of Bones creek about five or six miles below where Regina now is, the most southerly point the said creek had timber growing on it to any consider- able extent and where there was generally water, which if not running could be found in pools in the bed of the stream. This point was a favourite place for the makers of pemmican. Those who made pemmican were almost wholly half-breeds, only to a slight extent did Indians or Whites manufacture that article. Wherever pemmican was made of course a large number of buffalo bones accumulated which accumulation gave the name to the creek. Their camp was where the trail from Moose Jaw to Qu'Appelle crossed said creek, and a reference to the map will show a large area lying to the southwest and southeast of that point which is totally devoid of timber and on which buffalo roamed to a very large extent, hence the selection of this place for making pemmican, the nearest point to where buffalo was secured for obtaining wood and water.'

GEOGRAPHIC BOARD OF CANADA 21

Saskatoon is the saskatoon or service berry. The original townsite, a quarter section on the east bank of the river, was surveyed in 1883 by Frank L. Blake, D.L.S. It was located on a grant of 100,600 acres made to the Temper- ance Colonisation Society, Toronto, which was chartered 14 March, 1882. The company paid $200,000 for this area. A few houses, some of sods, but mostly of logs were built in 1883. Says James M. Eby of Saskatoon : — "In August there was a gathering of all the settlers on the site of the prospective city on which were two or three tents, but no other buildings. There were perhaps a score, possibly a few more of us all told. We raised a flag pole on which floated a Union Jack and amid speeches and merrymaking celebrated the founding of the city of Saskatoon." The day in August was the 19th, the 49th birthday of Mr. John N. Lake of Toronto, who had selected the townsite for the company and chosen the name Saskatoon for it in 1882. About a dozen names had been suggested but none had seemed appropriate. Then, in the words of Mr. Lake, "On the first Sunday in August, I was lying in my tent about 3 p.m. when a young man came in with a handful of bright red berries and gave them to me. After eating some, I asked where they were found. He said 'along the river bank.' I asked if people had a name for them. He said they were Saskatoon berries. — I at once, exclaimed 'You have found the name of the town — SASKA- TOON.' The name was formally accepted by the directors that winter and entered in the minutes." Post office opened 1 October, 1884.

Swift Current was named by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in 1882, when the line reached the site of the city. It is the translation of the Indian name of the nearby river "Saskatchewan." Hill Gregory, the first settler and first postmaster, came in the spring of 1883. Information from Hill Gregory. Post office opened 1 August, 1883.

Weyburn was named about 1891-92 by the late Sir Wm. Whyte, then vice- president of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The meaning of the name is obscure. The first settlers, Henry J. Powley and W. H. Hunt, settled about 18947 Post office opened 1 August, 1895.

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