Bralorne Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia

Locality - A named place or area, generally with a scattered population of 50 or less. S of Gold Bridge, NW of Lillooet, Lillooet Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Bralorne

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Bralorne

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

Name Description
Bralorne Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Bralorne

References to Bralorne that document the origin of its place name

Bralorne (Post Office) adopted 5 July 1936 on Geological Survey sheet 430A, as labelled on BC map 3K, 1932 (file G.1.36). Form of name changed to Bralorne (Community) 31 May 1982; further changed to Bralorne (Locality) 29 November 1984.

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

First claims staked at adjoining Pioneer Mine in 1897; Bralorne Mine began production in 1931; Bralorne Post Office opened 1 January 1932, Neill McQueen postmaster; Bralorne and Pioneer mines merged in 1959; ore production halted and the mines shut down in 1971 when the company felt operations were unprofitable at the world price of $38.50 per ounce. Until then, the Bralorne Mine had been one of the biggest - with adjoining Pioneer Mine had produced $144 million worth of gold. Bralorne Post Office closed 8 September 1971. Mine re-opened c1976, employing more modern equipment and gold-extraction techniques.

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

Bralorne is a compound name, as follows: The Lorne mineral claim was located here by William Young, 4 July 1897, and with other claims was developed into the Lorne mine. In 1931 the mine was acquired by Bralco Development and Investment Co., Austin Cottrell Taylor, Vancouver, president. (The name Bralco in turn having been made from the first two letters of British, Alberta and Columbia). Bralco formed a new company to operate the mine - Bralorne Mines Ltd, the name being made from "Bra" of Bralco and "Lorne". The town took its name from the company. (information provided to the Provincial Archives 4 November 1947 by Miss Browning, secretary to A.C. Taylor)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Provincial Archives of BC "Place Names File" compiled 1945-1950 by A.G. Harvey from various sources, with subsequent additions  |  Province of British Columbia

Related Online Resources

Bralorne Pioneer Museum

Mining artifacts and historical stories & photographs from the communities of Pioneer, Bralorne & Gold Bridge.

WEB LINK
Bralorne · Gold Bridge · Pioneer Mine

 

Squamish-Lillooet Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-12-07