Hanington Creek adopted in 1925, as labelled on BC-Alberta boundary sheet 39, 1924 (not Hannington Creek as mis-spelled on earlier correspondence, nor Wolf Creek as labelled on earlier maps). See Mount Hanington.

“Hanington Pass” adopted in 1925, as labelled on BC-Alberta boundary sheet 39, 1924, not “Hannington Pass” as mis-spelled on earlier correspondence, nor Wolf Pass as labelled on earlier maps. See Mount Hanington.

Edward Worrell Jarvis [1846–1894] and Charles Francis Hanington [1848–1930] made an adventurous winter journey across the Rockies in 1875. The pass through which they crossed the mountains was named Jarvis Pass by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1917; the name Jarvis is also borne by a mountain on the south side of the pass opposite Mount Hanington.

The exploration was undertaken to see if this route across the mountains would be a practicable one for the Canadian Pacific Railway. The elevation of the pass, about 1500 m, proved too high. The starting point of the journey was Quesnel, which was left on December 9, 1874, and a 1,000-mile journey, mostly on foot, occupying five and a half months was concluded at Winnipeg on May 21, 1875.

(extract from Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, June 1927).

John Finlay [1774–1833] was a fur trader and explorer with the North West Company. He is best remembered for establishing the first fur trading post in what is now British Columbia and for his exploration of the Finlay River, which joins with the Parsnip River to form the Peace River.

Finlay was born in Montreal, the son of James Finlay, who was also a significant player in the western Canadian fur trade. Finlay was apprenticed as a clerk in the North West Company in 1789 at the age of 15. He accompanied Alexander Mackenzie [1764–1820] on his historic trip across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in 1792-93 becoming the first Europeans to traverse North America. He was placed in charge of the North West Company’s Athabasca Department in 1794, and the same year established a trading post at present-day Fort St. John, called Rocky Mountain Fort. This was the first European community established in present-day British Columbia and is the province’s oldest continuously inhabited European-founded settlement.