Savona, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Kamloops Lake
Kamloops Lake in British Columbia, Canada is situated on the Thompson River just west of Kamloops. The lake is 1.6 km wide, 29 km long, and up to 152 m deep...
, where the Thompson River
Thompson River
The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches called the South Thompson and the North Thompson...
exits it. It is approximately halfway between Kamloops
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...
and 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...
along the Trans-Canada Highway
Trans-Canada Highway
The Trans-Canada Highway is a federal-provincial highway system that joins the ten provinces of Canada. It is, along with the Trans-Siberian Highway and Australia's Highway 1, one of the world's longest national highways, with the main route spanning 8,030 km...
. The surrounding the community is semi-arid grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s and hills supporting cattle ranching and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
.
History
Savona was originally located on the north shore of Kamloops Lake, where it was the end of the stagecoachStagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line from Cache Creek on the Cariboo Wagon Road. Originally passengers continuing on had to take the steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
up the lake to Kamloops and the Shuswap Country
Shuswap Country
The Shuswap Country, or simply "the Shuswap" is a term used in the Canadian province of British Columbia to refer to the environs of Shuswap Lake. The upper reaches of the Shuswap basin, southeast of Shuswap Lake and northeast of the Okanagan, are generally considered to be part of Okanagan or of...
and the goldfields of the Big Bend
Big Bend
-United States:* Big Bend , region of Texas** Big Bend National Park, in Texas* Big Bend, California, census-designated place* Big Bend, Butte County, California, unincorporated community* Big Bend, Placer County, California, unincorporated community...
of the Columbia River until a man named Savona started a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
across the river at that location. A road was later built along the south side of Kamloops Lake to Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...
.
In 1884 Savona was the eastern end of Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk
Andrew Onderdonk was a construction contractor who worked on several major projects including the San Francisco seawall in California and the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. He was born on August 30, 1848 in New York to an established Dutch family. He received his education at the...
's contract for building the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
(CPR) for the Canadian government
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
. Onderdonk continued building eastward under a CPR contract. Because the railway was on the south side of the river, most of the houses were pulled across the lake on the ice
Ice
Ice is water frozen into the solid state. Usually ice is the phase known as ice Ih, which is the most abundant of the varying solid phases on the Earth's surface. It can appear transparent or opaque bluish-white color, depending on the presence of impurities or air inclusions...
, moving the community to where it is today. In 1915, the Canadian Northern Pacific Railway
Canadian Northern Pacific Railway
The Canadian Northern Pacific Railway was an historic Canadian railway with a main line running between the Alberta–British Columbia border and Vancouver, British Columbia. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Canadian Northern Railway ....
, now part of Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
was built along the north side of Kamloops Lake.
The Savona area is the home of the Skeetchestn Indian Band
Skeetchestn Indian Band
The Skeetchestn Indian Band is a member of the Secwepemc Nation, located in the Central Interior region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its main Indian reserve is located at Savona, British Columbia. It was created when the government of the then-Colony of British Columbia...
. Their main reserve, Skeetchestn Indian Reserve, comprising 7975.70 ha., is located on the north side of the Thompson west of Savona, and reaching up the valley of the Deadman River
Deadman River
The Deadman River, also known as the Deadman's River, Deadman Creek or Deadman's Creek, is a tributary of the Thompson River in the British Columbia Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is about in length.-Name:...
.
