The Similkameen Country, also referred to as the Similkameen Valley or Similkameen District, but generally referred to simply as The Similkameen or more archaically, Similkameen, is a region roughly coinciding with the basin of the river of the same name in the Southern Interior of British Columbia. The term "Similkameen District" also refers to the Similkameen Mining District, a defunct government administrative district, which geographically encompasses the same area, and in more casual terms may also refer to the Similkameen electoral district, which was combined with the Grand Forks-Greenwood riding by the time of the 1966 election. The Similkameen Country has deep historical connections to the Boundary Country and the two are sometimes considered one region, partly as a result of the name of the electoral district. It is also sometimes classed as being part of the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also known as the Okanagan Valley and sometimes as the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is par ...

region, which results from shared

regional district In the province of British Columbia in Canada, a regional district is an administrative subdivision of the province that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and governmental authority. there were 28 regional districts in ...

and other administrative boundaries and names. The term "Similkameen District" may also historically refer to the

Similkameen Division Yale Land District Similkameen may refer to: * Similkameen Country or Similkameen District, or "the Similkameen", a historical georegion in British Columbia, Canada * Similkameen River, a river that runs through southern British Columbia, discharging into the Okanog ...

, which also includes Osoyoos and the

Boundary Country The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west ...

to Osoyoos' east. The name "Similkameen" is said to have originated from the ''Similkameigh'' indigenous people of the region, meaning "treacherous waters". Although the

Similkameen River The Similkameen River runs through southern British Columbia, Canada, eventually discharging into the Okanagan River near Oroville, Washington, in the United States. Through the Okanagan River, it drains to the Columbia River. The river is said ...

's last few miles are in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state, only the British Columbia part of the river's basin is named "the Similkameen". The Similkameen is one of several historical regions of British Columbia whose foundations and settlement lay in the days of the Colony of British Columbia, and was one of the first areas of the province prospected as well as farmed and ranched. The area has seen a number of famous gold strikes and large mining operations, notably the Tulameen Gold Rush of the 1880s and 1890s and the

Nickel Plate Mine Nickel Plate Mine was a gold mine on Nickel Plate Mountain at Hedley in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia. Discoveries In 1894, Keremeos rancher, J.L. Coulthard, in partnership with Edgar Dewdney, staked three claims on what ...

at Hedley, but also including coal at Blakeburn and Coalmont, and copper at

Allenby Allenby is a surname of English origin. Notable people with the surname include: *Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (1861–1936), British Army field-marshal ** Named for the above: ** Allenby Street, Tel Aviv, Israel ** Allenby Bridge between ...

and Copper Mountain, all of these locations in the vicinity of

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nin ...

. Orcharding and ranching are important to the Similkameen Country, with orcharding and ranching operations in the Keremeos first started by

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n immigrant

Francis Xavier Richter Franz Xavier Richter, commonly known as Frank Richter (1837 –1910), was a pioneer settler, miner and rancher in 19th century Washington and British Columbia. Biography Born in Friedland, Bohemia, then part of Austria-Hungary, Richter was ...

in 1864. Richter's original of fruit trees at Keremeos Centre are considered to be one of the two foundations of BC's orcharding industry, the other being started by the

Oblate Fathers In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally li ...

Okanagan Mission Father Pandosy Mission, also known as the Okanagan Mission, was the original home for Father Pandosy in Kelowna, British Columbia. He moved to Kelowna in 1859 and started the first settlement of Europeans in that region. The Pandosy Mission ...

. Today the area is seeing a burgeoning wine industry and a boom in sunbelt-oriented recreation housing and property development.

Major towns

* Keremeos *

* Tulameen * Cawston * Coalmont * Hedley

First Nations

The Similkameen Country is mostly in the traditional territory of the Similkameen subdivision of the

Okanagan people The ''Syilx'' () people, also known as the Okanagan, Okanogan or Okinagan people, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the Canada–US boundary in Washington state and British Columbia in the Okanaga ...

or Syilx. There are two Indian Bands in the region, the

Upper Similkameen Indian Band The Upper Similkameen Indian Band or Upper Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia, whose head offices are located in town of Hedley in the Similkameen Country. They are a member of the Okanagan ...

at Princeton and the

Lower Similkameen Indian Band The Lower Similkameen Indian Band or Lower Smelqmix, is a First Nations band government in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Their office is located in the village of Keremeos in the Similkameen region. They are a member of the Okanaga ...

at Keremeos. The upper reaches of the Similkameen and its upper tributaries such as the Tulameen and

Pasayten River The Pasayten River is a tributary of the Similkameen River, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The Pasayten River is part of the Columbia River dra ...

s, however, were part of the traditional territory of the Nlaka'pamux and their subgroup the Scw'exmx.

References

{{coord, 49, 13, 00, N, 119, 58, 00, W, display=title History of British Columbia

Major towns

First Nations

See also

References