British Columbia. Locality
On Canadian National Railway between Dunster and Shere
53.0667 N 119.7167 W — Map 83E/4 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1911 (GTP map)
Name officially adopted in 1983
Official in BC – Canada
On Canadian National Railway between Dunster and Shere
53.0667 N 119.7167 W — Map 83E/4 — Google — GeoHack
Earliest known reference to this name is 1911 (GTP map)
Name officially adopted in 1983
Official in BC – Canada
63 miles west of the Yellowhead Pass on the Canadian National Railway
Mile 37 in Tete Jaune Subdivision (Red Pass to McBride as of 1977)
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station built in 1913. Rebuilt in 1954 by Canadian National Railways.
Mile 37 in Tete Jaune Subdivision (Red Pass to McBride as of 1977)
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station built in 1913. Rebuilt in 1954 by Canadian National Railways.
This locality appears on:
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map [ca. 1912]
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway timetable 1914
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map ca. 1918
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map 1919
Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune 3H 1919
Canadian National Railway map 1925
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway stations
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map [ca. 1912]
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway timetable 1914
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map ca. 1918
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway map 1919
Pre-emptor’s map Tête Jaune 3H 1919
Canadian National Railway map 1925
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway stations
Croydon (flag station) adopted 23 May 1963, as labelled on BC map 3H, 1919, and as identified in the 1930 BC Gazetteer. Form of name changed to Croydon (locality) 31 May 1983 on 83E/4.
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway station at Croydon (Mile 63) was named after the town of Croydon, England.
The name appears on the 1915 land pre-emptor’s map of the McBride area. Etter and McDougal Lumber operated an 80-man sawmill at Croydon until 1919, when a brush fire spread to the yard. Sandy McDougal allowed the Croydon school board to use an old bunk house for the school. Contributions from Croydon, England, made possible the construction of an Anglican Church and burial grounds in 1935.
The Croydon post office was open from 1917 to 1968.
References:
- Wheeler, Marilyn. The Robson Valley Story. McBride, B.C.: Robson Valley Story Group, 1979
- Haralson, Doris Neely. Northland Echoes. Yarrow, B.C.: Published by the author, Box 31, 1981
- Topping, William. A checklist of British Columbia post offices. Vancouver: published by the author, 7430 Angus Drive, 1983
My Dad, Mr R W McInnes, taught school in the one room schoolhouse at Croydon in 1942. He returned to teach school at North Croydon School on the highway in 1964. Jesse Barnett was the postmistress in Croydon on the railway when we moved there in 1964, and my Dad knew her from 1942 when the school was near their store.
The old Croydon one- room schoolhouse where my Dad taught in 1942 was near the railway station and near Barnett’s store. He went back there in 1964 to teach at North Croydon on the Highway side.
The old one-room schoolhouse that my dad taught at in 1942 was still there but abandoned in 1964 , as he took me there to see it. I still have a few Superintendent school reports that they did while dad taught in 1942. It noted things like sufficient wood for the stove, fresh drinking water for the students and sanitary conditions. Back then the teacher was the janitor, water fetcher, window washer and other chores like rubbing kids feet when they arrived at school after a long walk. They relied heavily on the railroad to bring in supplies, mail and school resources.
I was 11 years old when we arrived by train at Croydon Station, to my Dads teaching job at North Croydon. Someone picked us up and drove us around through Dunster and on to North Croydon. The sawmill at Small River had been shut down a year or so before we arrived so there were not many students anymore. The North Croydon School, was in a field with a small creek running behind the two teacherages. The school was at the bottom of Langstaff Hill. We picked up our mail and groceries in Dunster from Heitalas General store in 1964-65. I remember visiting McNaughtans, Molyndyks and Neilsons near the Fraser River bridge in Dunster. We got our drinking water from the creek beside the school. We fished in the creek and built a waterwheel as a project. Goodells lived across the highway.We visited the Widells at their Small River Ranch. Helen Widell had written a book about a black wolf that frequented their ranch, “Black Wolf of River Bend” , and I remember my dad reading the raw manuscript and helped editing it. She was the School Trusyee there back then.