Elgin Metro Vancouver Regional District, 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. S side of Nicomekl River in Surrey, New Westminster Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Elgin

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Elgin

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

Name Description
Elgin Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Elgin

References to Elgin that document the origin of its place name

Elgin (settlement) adopted 3 July 1952 on 92 G/2, as identified in Gosnell's Year Book, 1897, and as labelled on BC map 2B, 1914. Name subsequently adjusted to Elgin (community)

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

There was a small community of settlers here by 1879. Post Office name was chosen in 1885 by W.C. McDougall, after Lord Elgin. The Elgin Post Office was opened 1 November 1885; closed 30 October 1909. (from The Surrey Story, part 1, by G. Treleaven, p.27)

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

"I think it must have been about 1886 that I named it. We had about that time grown important enough in our own estimation to feel the need of a Post Office, and that establishment entailed furnishing a name, so I chose "Elgin" for what reason I do not know, and after consulting Donald Stewart, John Stevenson, Harry Chantrell, William Mackenzie and my brother - all gone now - the place was named Elgin." (20 December 1924 letter from W.C. McDougall to Mr. R.L. Reid)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
Nelson, Denys; Place Names of the Delta of the Fraser River; 1927, unpublished manuscript held in the Provincial Archives  |  Province of British Columbia

Named after Lord Elgin, governor-general of Canada, 1847-55. (Gosnell's Year Book of British Columbia, 1903). Named by McDougall, after Elgin, Bruce County, Ontario (Kaye Lamb, nephew of McDougall).

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

 

Metro Vancouver Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-26