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 Spallumcheen Valley - Armstrong, BC Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 50° 27.269 W 119° 09.974
11U E 346227 N 5591406
This marker is placed at a small rest stop along Highway 97A, less than one km. northeast of the north Armstrong turnoff.
Waymark Code: WMMA7Q
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/20/2014
Views: 2
This is a small rest area operated by the township of Spallumcheen, with picnic tables and parking areas, but no washrooms. Armstrong is nearby, though. At the far end of the rest area is this BC Heritage Marker, which recounts the initial impression of the valley when first seen by the area's pioneering settler, A.I. Fortune.
Spallumcheen Valley
“And our eyes feasted on the long stretch of prairies…” wrote A.I. Fortune, first settler in this fertile valley, in June 1866. The natural meadows, rippling in tall grasses, were ideal pastures for cattle and sheep. Later, grain replaced livestock. Despite many decades of use, 'Spil-a-mi-shine' of the Indians remains ever bountiful, ever beautiful.
From the marker
Spallumcheen Valley takes its name from the Shuswap word spalmtsin meaning "flat area along edge” Containing 40,000 acres of prime agricultural land, the valley has been well known for the quality of its produce: cattle, poultry, swine, grain, vegetables and fruit. It supplied the Canadian Pacific Railway diners and hotels across the country with vegetables. Nearby Armstrong was known as "celery" town, and gave its name to a famous type of celery.
The climate of the valley is very comfortable, with short winters and sunny, hot summers. The name "Spallumucheen" was first given to a post office in 1881, six miles south of present-day Enderby. The township of Spallumcheen was incorporated in 1892, the first rural municipality in the interior of British Columbia. When the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway was completed, the town of Lansdowne, containing the Spallumcheen post office, was moved two miles to the present site of Armstrong on the railway.
For many years the Shuswap River which flows into Mara Lake was known as Spallumcheen River.
From Heritage Stops BC
Type of Marker: Cultural
Type of Sign: British Columbia Tourism Sign
Describe the parking that is available nearby: Rest Area
What Agency placed the marker?: B.C. Department of Recreation & Conservation
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