Burton Regional District of Central Kootenay, British Columbia

Community - An unincorporated populated place, generally with a population of 50 or more, and having a recognized central area that might contain a post office, store and/or community hall, etc, intended for the use of the general public in the region. E side of The Narrows (Columbia River), just N of Lower Arrow Lake, Kootenay Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Burton

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Burton

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

Name Description
Burton Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Burton

References to Burton that document the origin of its place name

"Burton (Town) not Burton City" adopted in the 5th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 30 June 1904. Form of name changed to "Burton (Village) not Burton City" in the 15th Report of the GBC, 31 March 1917. Form of name changed to Burton (Post Office) 6 October 1955 on 82/SW, and coordinates adjusted upland. Form of name changed to Burton (Community) 15 December 1982 on 82F/13.

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

Burton Post Office was opened 1 May 1896, Reuben S. Burton, postmaster.

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

Before the Burton brothers arrived, this location was called "Trout Creek", and was a point of dispersal for supplies brought up the river by steamer. Reuben Burton pre-empted land at the mouth of Cariboo Creek 3 August 1893; the townsite was surveyed under the name of Burton. Two other brothers, Byron and Arthur, had also located pre-emptions here but did not complete their title by Crown Grant. "Burton City" [sic] steamer landing identified in Interior Tug & Transport Company (Castlegar) timetables until April 1954, when ferry service was cancelled. Much of the original townsite is now flooded behind Columbia River dam, and the community has relocated eastward.

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

 

A Selected Bibliography of Burton, Regional District of Central Kootenay, British Columbia

A compilation of essential readings detailing the history, geography, and culture of the region.

Whistle stops along the Columbia River narrows a history of Burton and surrounding area by Burton New Horizons Book Committee

Title Cover Image

The Burton New Horizons Book Committee’s Whistle stops along the Columbia River narrows: a history of Burton and surrounding area chronicles the vibrant steamboat era and agrarian settlement along the vital Arrow Lakes corridor in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. Set against the deep, glacially carved valleys connecting the Upper and Lower Arrow Lakes, the narrative details how early homesteaders, miners, and loggers mapped their riverside camps directly onto the ancient fishing and trading routes of the Sinixt and Ktunaxa peoples. The text reveals how these remote residents relied on tight-knit kinship alliances and the regular arrival of Columbia River sternwheelers to survive the profound geographic isolation of the narrows, forging a highly interdependent, water-bound society. Crucially, the local history documents the ultimate civic sacrifice required by mid-twentieth-century hydroelectric engineering, detailing how the original Burton townsite was intentionally flooded and relocated following the 1968 construction of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam. Ultimately, this community-authored volume functions as both a vital pioneer record and a testament to the cooperative endurance of a rural society forced to completely adapt its geographic footprint in the face of massive environmental reengineering.

vii, 411 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 29 cm

Desiderata
Biographies · 1st Edition · Burton New Horizons Book Committee, Burton, B.C., 1982
Related Catalog Items: Burton · Regional District of Central Kootenay

 


 

Regional District of Central Kootenay

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-27