Strathnaver Cariboo 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. E side Fraser River, between Quesnel and Hixon, Cariboo Land District

Mapped Location

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

 

Information

General information on Strathnaver

  • Feature Type: Place

 

Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for Strathnaver

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

Name Description
Strathnaver Official

 

Origin Notes and History of Strathnaver

References to Strathnaver that document the origin of its place name

Strathnaver (Post Office) adopted 18 September 1967 on 93G at 53° 17' x 122° 30'. Form of name changed to Strathnaver (community) 15 September 1981 on 93G/7. Coordinates adjusted 8 February 1989 on 93 G/7, to 53° 17' x 122° 29' 30".

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.  |  Province of British Columbia

Strathnaver Post Office was opened 1 July 1919, located in the home of W.M. Muirhead, postmaster. Relocated in 1920 to NW 1/4 Lot 3183, the home of J.A. Wade, postmaster. The post office was closed 31 December 1926; re-opened 1 July 1930 situated on SW 1/4 Lot 3182, the home of James MacKay, postmaster, near PGE's Strathnaver Railway Station; closed 29 September 1956; re-opened 20 September 1965, situated about 5 miles to the southeast, on SE 1/4 Lot 3204. Date of final closure not cited. (sequence of postmasters contributed April 2011 by geographer Kent Sedgwick, Prince George)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.  |  Province of British Columbia

The area was settled in 1912 by Scottish immigrants, part of a colonization scheme by the Duke of Sutherland; Sutherland also held the title Lord Strathnaver, and had named his British Columbia holdings "Strathnaver Farm," but the project was abandoned soon after his death in 1913.

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.  |  Province of British Columbia

"Named by the Duke of Sutherland, Scottish land owner, who came to Canada in 1909 and bought approximately 4000 acres here, after a property of his is Sutherlandshire. He intended settling the area with Scotsmen." [note: documentation has Sutherland travelling to Victoria in 1904, and Vancouver in 1905, then to this area in 1911 to instigate his settlement scheme (advice from geographer Kent Sedgwick, Prince George).]

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

"Strathnaver was named after a property in the north of Scotland, owned for many years by the Duke of Sutherland, and through this property in Scotland ran a beautiful river called the Naver... in Scotland, strath means valley...." ( letter from J. MacKay to L. LeBourdais, MLA, with additional explanation from Lebourdais to BC Geographic Division: "Mr. & Mrs. MacKay are the 2 oldest settlers there, having come out some 30 years ago on the Duke of Sutherland's land settlement scheme." (both letters on file F.3.44).)

B.C. Geographical Names in Province of British Columbia
BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.  |  Province of British Columbia

 

Cariboo Regional District

Political Boundaries

Last updated: 2023-09-27