Dewdney, originally named Johnson's Landing from 1884–1892, is an unincorporated community in the Central Fraser Valley of

British Columbia, Canada British Columbia is the westernmost province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beach ...

, about 15 km east of the city of

Mission Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality * Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * ...

. It was incorporated as a

district municipality A district municipality is a designation for a class of municipalities found in several locations, including Canada, Lithuania, and South Africa. Canada British Columbia Under provincial law, municipalities in British Columbia are to be desi ...

on April 17, 1892, including adjoining areas of Hatzic and Hatzic Island but the anticipated real estate boom on that island didn't pan out and economic damage from the Great Fraser Flood of 1894 led to the municipality's disincorporation on March 12, 1906. Another municipality eastwards, Nicomen, was incorporated in the same year but similarly later disincorporated. Though in the same school district as Mission, it and other adjoining rural areas did not join that municipality when offered. It is now represented as part of Electoral Area 'G' in the regional district government, which currently is the

Fraser Valley Regional District The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of Chilliwack. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km2 (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 by a ...

. Dewdney is located at the western end of Nicomen Island, one of the larger settled islands in the Fraser, and at the southeast corner of Hatzic Prairie, a lowland floodplain at the south end of which is Hatzic Lake, an

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

with a community of the same name on the island in its centre. Downtown Dewdney spans the Nicomen Slough, which is fed by Norrish Creek (aka Suicide Creek), one of the main water supplies for the District of Mission. Running east on the north side of the slough is the famous Hawkins Pickle Road (famous mostly for its name). Dewdney has a couple of stores, a post office, th
Historic Dewdney Pub
(aka "Church of the Blues"), th
Dewdney Elementary School featuring a Community Outdoor Recreation Education
program, and other businesses and is a service centre for other nearby communities, most of which are more rural in character. Though situated in rich farmland Dewdney also has a history and continuing economic presence in lumbering and milling community, and also in relation to the fishery and shipping on the river. Dewdney was the destination of the

Dewdney Trunk Road The Dewdney Trunk Road was one of the earliest major roads in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Originally running from Port Moody to Dewdney, British Columbia, Dewdney, just east of Mission, British Columbia, Mission, it exists in th ...

, one of the Fraser Valley's earliest main roads, which ran from

Port Moody Port Moody is a city in British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It envelops the east end of Burrard Inlet and is the smallest of the Tri-Cities, bordered by Coquitlam on the east and south ...

to Dewdney. The Dewdney Trunk Road, or Dewdney Trunk as it is often called, should not be confused with the

Dewdney Trail The Dewdney Trail is a trail in British Columbia, Canada, that served as a major thoroughfare in mid-19th century British Columbia. The trail was a critical factor in the development and strengthening of the newly established British colony of Br ...

, which is a colonial-era route from Hope to the East Kootenay region built by

Edgar Dewdney Edgar Dewdney, (November 5, 1835 – August 8, 1916) was a Canadian surveyor, road builder, Indian commissioner and politician born in Devonshire, England. He emigrated to British Columbia in 1859 in order to act as surveyor for the Dewdney ...

. He had been in charge of surveying the site of

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

during colonial times and had served on the Legislative Council, the colony's governing body, and as Member of Parliament. The community of Dewdney was named in 1892 when he was appointed

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the representative of the monarch in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in the ...

and who had been Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories from 1881, and federal Minister of the Interior from 1888–1892.

Associated names

The community is the namesake of the historical Dewdney provincial electoral district and also of the now-dismantled Dewdney-Alouette Regional District (DARD). Dewdney Peak (locally referred to as Hatzic Mountain) immediately to the community's north was named for the community in 1939, rather than for Edgar Dewdney."Dewdney Peak (mountain)"
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References

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Associated names

See also

References

Further reading