Lytton
Lytton is at the confluence of the Fraser and Thompson Rivers, situated on a high terrace on the left bank of the Fraser.1 Lytton was sometimes referred to as “the Forks”, and the short-lived HBC post of Fort Dallas was also located there.2
According to Scholefield, the area was an important centre of the Nklaka’pamux, also known as “the Thompson” people.3 The site of Lytton was once an Aboriginal village called Camchin, meaning crossing over or the great fork.4
In 1858, the area was renamed Lytton by Governor Douglas, after Colonial Secretary Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton.5 In this despatch, Douglas writes that due to the influx of miners the Town site of Lytton was laid out, and now contains 50 houses and a population of 900 persons.
Lytton is mentioned in numerous despatches, and was known as a site rich in gold, conflict, and cultural exchange.
  • 1. Lytton, BC Geographical Names Information System.
  • 2. E. O. S. Scholefield, British Columbia from the Earliest Times to the Present, vol. 1, 1875-1919 (Vancouver: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1914), 271.
  • 3. Lytton, BC Geographical Names Information System.
  • 4. Scholefield, British Columbia: From the Earliest Times to the Present, 271.
  • 5. Ibid.
  • 6. Lytton, BC Geographical Names Information System.
Mentions of this place in the documents
The Colonial Despatches Team. Lytton. The Colonial Despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871, Edition 2.0, ed. The Colonial Despatches Team. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria. https://bcgenesis.uvic.ca/lytton.html.

Last modified: 2020-03-30 13:22:16 -0700 (Mon, 30 Mar 2020) (SVN revision: 4193)