City of Kimberley Regional District of East Kootenay, British Columbia

City - A populated place with legally defined boundaries, incorporated as a city municipality under the provincial Municipal Act. NW of Cranbrook, Kootenay Land District

Mapped Location

City of Kimberley: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.

 

Information

General information on City of Kimberley

  • Feature Type: Incorporated

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Kimberley

A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named

Name Description
City of Kimberley Official

 

Origin Notes and History of City of Kimberley

References to City of Kimberley that document the origin of its place name

Kimberley (City) adopted 4 November 1926 on Geological Survey map 297A, Cranbrook, as labelled on BC Lands' map 1EM, 1915 (file C.2.26). Confirmed 4 October 1932 on 82G.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Kimberley Post Office was opened 1 January 1899. In November 1968, the boundary of the City of Kimberley was extended to include the Village of Marysville.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

Named after Kimberley, South Africa, in turn named after John Wodehouse (1826-1902), first Earl of Kimberley, 1866, and Colonial Secretary at the time diamonds were discovered in South Africa. (1944 notation on BC name card). Additional career biography & historic information compiled by BC Archives, as a result of 1962 research through all available documents. See also the municipality's own website.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office  |  Province of British Columbia

The settlement was first known as Mark Creek Crossing and then as Clark City. Much uncertainty surrounds the origin of [the name Kimberley]. It appear likely however that Colonel Ridpath, an American mining magnate, conferred the name in 1896 or 1897, presumably hoping that his property here would prove as rich as the diamond-mining centre of Kimberley in South Africa, which had been named after the first Earl of Kimberley, who in 1871 as Colonial Secretary, had placed the diamond mines under British protection.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; British Columbia Place Names; Sono Nis Press, Victoria 1986 /or University of British Columbia Press 1997  |  Province of British Columbia

"Kimberley’s story begins in 1891 with the discovery of Galena at the North Star Mine – now the location of the popular Kimberley Alpine Resort. A year later, four prospectors were drawn to the area to ultimately discover one of the greatest lead-zinc mines in the world. Walter Burchett, EC Smith, John Cleaver and Pat Sullivan arrived at the base of the North Star Mountain only to realize that the entire hillside had been staked – undaunted, they crossed Mark Creek to explore what is now called Sullivan Mountain. There they found ore and staked three claims. In 1896 Burchett, Smith, and Cleaver formed the Sullivan Group Mining Co. named in memory of Pat Sullivan, who died in a cave-in at a mine in Idaho. A small settlement called Mark Creek Crossing rose on the heels of the Sullivan Mine’s growth. In 1896 the settlement’s name was changed to Kimberley in expectation that the Sullivan Mine’s lead, silver and zinc deposits would be as rich as the diamond mines of Kimberley, South Africa. The first shipments of ore to the smelters in Nelson and Trail began in 1900. A smelter was constructed in Marysville in 1903 and operated until 1907. The ore from the Sullivan mine was very complex and difficult to refine, but researchers at the Trail smelter developed a successful floatation process. Large-scale production of the ore started in 1923, following the takeover of the mine in 1910 by the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company Ltd. (Cominco). (from City of Kimberley website)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
included with note  |  Province of British Columbia

The traditional name for this site is Kukama?nam, pronounced koo-ka-ma nam. [meaning/significance not provided] (April 2006 advice from Janice Alpine, Ktunaxa Language Program)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
included with note  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Regional District of East Kootenay

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-10-21