Lillooet Country facts for kids

The Lillooet Country is a special region in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It stretches from the town of Lillooet in the central Fraser Canyon all the way west to the valley of the Lillooet River. It also includes the beautiful valleys found in between these two points. People sometimes just call it The Lillooet or even Lillooet when they mean the whole region, not just the town.

What is the Lillooet Country?

This area is known for its stunning natural beauty and interesting history. It includes several river valleys, like the Bridge River, Birkenhead River, and Cayoosh Creek. The Seton Lake-Anderson Lake-Gates River valley is also part of it. This valley is important because the Canadian National Railway (which used to be called PGE/BCR) runs through it.

How the Name Changed Over Time

The meaning of "Lillooet Country" has changed quite a bit over the years. During the exciting gold rush days and into the late 1800s, the term "Lillooet District" meant a much larger area. It included the Lillooet Mining District and the Lillooet Land District, which went east of the Fraser River all the way to the North Thompson River. As more towns and developments grew in that bigger area, people stopped using "Lillooet District" to describe it, except for official land or election areas.

The Original Lillooet Country

The very first "Lillooet Country," sometimes called "Old Lillooet," was actually in the valley of the Lillooet River. This river's name comes from the Lil'wat-ul First Nations people, who speak the St'at'imcets language and live there. This part of the region was quite isolated for a long time. It relied on the town of Lillooet and old routes like the Douglas Road and Pemberton Trail to connect with the outside world.

Even after Highway 99 opened, connecting Pemberton to North Vancouver, this area was still seen as part of the Lillooet Country. However, over time, it has slowly become more connected with the modern Sea to Sky Corridor. Today, most people don't think of the Lillooet River valley as "part of the Lillooet Country." But it's important to remember that this valley is where the name and idea of the Lillooet Country first came from! During the gold rush, the main entry point to this area was Port Lillooet, British Columbia, located at the south end of Lillooet Lake.

Sub-regions of Lillooet Country

A significant part of the Lillooet Country is known as the Bridge River Country. This sub-area includes the basin of the Bridge River and communities like D'Arcy, McGillivray Falls, Seton Portage, and Shalalth. After the 1930s, the name "Bridge River-Lillooet" became popular. This was because of the local newspaper, the Bridge River-Lillooet News, which served both the town of Lillooet and the mining towns up the Bridge River.

Where is the Lillooet Country?

The exact borders of the Lillooet Country are not super strict, but people who live there generally know where it begins and ends.

• Northeast Boundary: On the northeast side, the edge is usually marked by the top of the Pavilion Mountain Road and the eastern entrance of Marble Canyon.
• Southwest Boundary: Down the Fraser Canyon, a place called the Big Slide on Highway 12, or the southern exit of Fountain Valley, forms the southwest border.
• Northwest Boundary: To the northwest, generally everything north up to Churn Creek and Big Bar Ferry is considered part of the Lillooet Country.
• West Boundary: On the west, the top of Cayoosh Pass on Highway 99, near Duffey Lake, is seen as a "border" for the modern meaning of the Lillooet Country. Similarly, Pemberton Pass at Birken Lake is also considered an outer boundary. Even though the Lillooet River valley to its west was the historic heart of the district, these passes mark the modern edge.
• Bridge River Entrance: For locals, the entrance to the Bridge River Country through Railroad Pass (also known as Railway Pass) between the upper Hurley River and the upper Lillooet River valley is a clear sign of a regional border. There's a small difference made between the Bridge River Country and "metropolitan Lillooet." The lower few miles of the Bridge River, which are close to the town of Lillooet, are considered "Lillooet," while areas further up are "in the Bridge River."

People Connected with the Lillooet Country

Many interesting people have lived in or been connected to the Lillooet Country throughout its history. Here are a few:

• Caspar Phair
• George Matheson Murray
• Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray
• Masajiro Miyazaki
• Chief Hunter Jack
• Andrew Charles Elliott