Clinton, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Clinton is a village
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located approximately 40 km northwest of Cache Creek
Cache Creek, British Columbia
Cache Creek is a junction community northeast of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the Trans-Canada Highway in the province of British Columbia at its junction with northbound Highway 97...
and 30 km south of 70 Mile House
70 Mile House, British Columbia
70 Mile House is situated on Highway 97 in the Cariboo region of British Columbia, Canada. Its name is derived from its distance from Lillooet, which was Mile 0 of the Old Cariboo Road. Other examples of towns named by their distance from Lillooet on the Old Cariboo Road are 93 Mile House, 100 Mile...
.
It is considered by some to straddle the southern edge of the Cariboo
Cariboo
The Cariboo is an intermontane region of British Columbia along a plateau stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Cariboo Mountains. The name is a reference to the woodland caribou that were once abundant in the region...
country of British Columbia, although others consider Ashcroft-Cache Creek, Lillooet, Savona, Kamloops and even Lytton and Spences Bridge to be in the Cariboo. Clinton, however, does sit immediately below the southern edge of the Cariboo Plateau
Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau...
. Clinton has a number of attractions including horse-back riding, big game viewing, hiking, fishing and other outdoor activities.
Every May, Clinton is home to the May Ball which features a rodeo and dance. This is one of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's oldest continual events having first been held in 1867 and was a highlight of the social calendar in the British Columbia Interior
British Columbia Interior
The British Columbia Interior or BC Interior or Interior of British Columbia, usually referred to only as the Interior, is one of the three main regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, the other two being the Lower Mainland, which comprises the overlapping areas of Greater Vancouver...
for many decades. The Clinton Museum, built in 1892, has a number of historical artifacts on display that date back to the gold rush and founding of the area.
Name origin
Originally known as 47 Mile House or 47 Mile, Clinton was named in 1863 upon completion of the Cariboo Wagon Road in the area for Henry Fiennes Pelham Clinton, the 5th Duke of NewcastleDuke of Newcastle
Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is a title which has been created three times in British history while the title of Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne has been created once. The title was created for the first time in the Peerage of England in 1664 when William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne...
, who was Colonial Secretary
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
from 1854-1854 and 1859-1864.
Transportation
Highway 97 runs through the village north-south, meeting just south of downtown with the Pavilion Mountain Road, which connects from PavilionPavilion, British Columbia
Pavilion is a ranching and Indian Reserve community in the Fraser Canyon area of British Columbia, Canada. Most of the community is the population of the Pavilion 1 Indian Reserve of the Pavilion Indian Band, aka the Ts'kw'aylaxw First Nation but there are also a number of ranches in the...
and Kelly Lake
Kelly Lake
Kelly Lake may refer to:*Kelly Lake, a lake in Carver County, Minnesota*Kelly Lake, a lake in Rice County, Minnesota*Kelly Lake, a lake in Wellington, Nova Scotia*Kelly Lake, a lake in Oconto County, Wisconsin...
and is the route of the Old Cariboo Road
Old Cariboo Road
The Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia...
and follows what is known as Cut-Off Valley from the foot of the road over Pavilion Mountain
Pavilion Mountain
Pavilion Mountain is a mountain in the Marble Range in the South Cariboo region of the South-Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada, located northeast of the ranching and First Nations community of Pavilion and to the north of Marble Canyon and immediately south of Kelly Lake, which is the...
, which is also the route used by the British Columbia Railway although that route does not traverse Pavilion Mountain but comes via the Fraser Canyon via Moran
Moran, British Columbia
Moran is a railway point on the BC Rail line north of Pavilion, British Columbia. The location, which is high on the side of the stretch of the Fraser Canyon known as Moran Canyon, is notable as the site of the proposed Moran Dam, and due to the steep, sandy embankment and railway grade saw a...
and Arden Forest. The ranching communities of Jesmond, Kostering and Big Bar can be accessed via a road which has its junction with the Pavilion Mountain Road at Kelly Lake, which is also the location of Downing Provincial Park
Downing Provincial Park
Downing Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, created when Mr. and Mrs. Clair Downing donated their half mile of lake frontage property on Kelly Lake. The park's size, including the donated by the Downings, is 105 ha...
, which encompasses that lake. The same road is the access for Edge Hills
Edge Hills Provincial Park
Edge Hills Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located west of the town of Clinton. The Edge Hills flank the wall of the Fraser Canyon north of Moran Canyon and form a small fore-range between the river and the higher Marble Range just east. Access to the Edge Hills...
and Marble Range Provincial Park
Marble Range Provincial Park
Marble Range Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located west of 100 Mile House and Clinton at the southwest edge of the Cariboo Plateau along the eastern edge of the Fraser Canyon south from Big Bar-Kostering and near Jesmond....
s and also for the Big Bar Ferry
Big Bar Ferry
Big Bar Ferry is a cable ferry across the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. It is located about north of the town of Lillooet and west of Clinton...
to the west side of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
, which connects to the Slok Creek FSR to Lillooet
Lillooet, British Columbia
Lillooet is a community on the Fraser River in western Canada, about up the British Columbia Railway line from Vancouver. Situated at an intersection of deep gorges in the lee of the Coast Mountains, it has a dry climate- of precipitation is recorded annually at the town's weather station,...
. Clinton was, until adoption of its present name, known as 47 Mile House, that being the distance from Lillooet on the Old Cariboo Road.
Also diverging from Highway 97 at Clinton is the route of the original Cariboo Road
Cariboo Road
The Cariboo Road was a project initiated in 1860 by the colonial Governor of British Columbia, James Douglas...
, which climbs a gentler grade up the side of the Bonaparte River
Bonaparte River
The Bonaparte River is a tributary of the Thompson River, joining it at the community of Ashcroft, British Columbia. The river is about long, including the length of Bonaparte Lake...
valley up to the Cariboo Plateau
Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau...
, via Chasm and the associated provincial park
Chasm Provincial Park
Chasm Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada located near the town of Clinton. Expanded to 3067 hectares in 1995, the park was originally created in 1940 to preserve and promote a feature known as the Painted Chasm, or simply The Chasm, a gorge created from melting...
and the community of Lone Butte
Lone Butte, British Columbia
Lone Butte is an unincorporated community in the South Cariboo region of the Interior of British Columbia, Canada, north-east of 70 Mile House on the north side of Green Lake and near the butte of the same name...
. The BCR line also follows roughly the same route and has railstops at Chasm, Lone Butte and the Flying U Ranch, one of the province's oldest dude ranch
Dude ranch
The guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.-History:...
es. Other roads lead east from the Cariboo Road routing to Bonaparte Lake and Bonaparte Provincial Park and various provincial parks in that area. Loon Lake
Loon Lake (British Columbia)
Loon Lake is an Evergreen Fishing Resort in South Cariboo . The lake includes an RV park as well as cabins.-References:*...
] is accessed via the Loon Lake Road, which departs Highway 97 eastwards to the south of Clinton.