Compton Island facts for kids

Compton Island is a small island located in the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. You can find it in Blackfish Sound, which is a part of the larger Queen Charlotte Strait and Johnstone Strait area. It's situated to the east of a town called Port McNeill.

The entire Compton Island, along with three smaller islands nearby, forms a special area known as Compton Island Indian Reserve No. 6. This reserve is also sometimes called Compton 6. It's a designated territory for Indigenous peoples.

Why is it called Compton Island?

Compton Island got its name around 1866. It was named by a person known as Captain Pender. He named the island after a man named Pym Nevin Compton.

Pym Nevin Compton was from Hampshire, England. He worked for the Hudson's Bay Company, which was a very important trading company back then. He started as a clerk in Victoria, British Columbia.

Compton worked in different places. He was a trading clerk on a ship called the Labouchere. He was also in charge at trading posts like Port Simpson (which is now called Lax Kw'alaams) and Fort Rupert.

He returned to England in 1866. Later, he came back to Victoria, where he passed away in 1879. Another place, Compton Point, was also named after him.