Mount Currie, British Columbia

The post office was called Creekside. The Creekside train station was about half a mile east of the Chilsampton one. In 1956, the post office name changed to Mount Currie as did the Chilsampton station.[17][18] The new name derives from the mountain, which recognizes John Currie of Pemberton. Ts̓zil is the original name for the mountain.[19]

The meadows north of the settlement were among the first privately held land on the BC mainland. P. Smith and Co. received the first preemption.[20] John Shaw received the second one. These two properties form part of the present Mount Currie reserve.[21]

John Charles McKay was the inaugural Creekwood postmaster 1938–1945.[18]

About 1923, Bill Kiltz (of Lillooet Lake Trading Co) built the first Creekside store, a log cabin structure opposite the present church. After being lost to fire, a new store was erected near the train station. Since the building was demolished during the 1950s school expansion, this would likely be the Creekwood station. Kiltz sold groceries, hardware, basic clothing, and some pharmaceuticals. In 1946, Gerry and Florence Cowell took over. In 1950, Hector and Adele Harwood converted the store to a restaurant.[22]

By 1937, A. William (Bill) Spetch, Samuel's son, moved the Owl Creek store/post office to Creekside to serve the indigenous village, but that post office soon closed. George and Adeline Williams already had a store in their home on the reserve, which continued until the early 1950s. In 1940, Bill Spetch sold the store to his brother Walter. Initially leased by Jack and Alice McKay, the couple purchased the business in 1943. Bill repurchased it in 1947. While Bill operated a logging partnership with George Walker, George McDonald ran the store. In 1955, Bill opened a dry goods store, which others ran for him. Called Penny's, then Mount Currie Dry Goods, this was the first true clothing store in the area. Bill's wife Jean managed the business by the mid-1960s. Bill built a hardware store, to which the post office moved. Initially rented out, the enterprise was sold in 1957,[23] as was the original grocery store. Down the road, Gerry Boulanger ran a taxi service to Pemberton and a small café.[24] In the 1950s, Hector Harwood ran a small café by the railway.[25]

After the church on the reserve burned, the present St. Christopher's replaced it, being built on freehold land to serve all Catholics.[26] Mount Currie held an annual parade and races in May.[27] The rodeo appeared in the CBC documentary Pemberton Valley (1957). The Trap was a movie filmed at Birkenhead Lake and Mount Currie, using indigenous extras.[28]

The community hall opened in 1968.[29]

In 1905, a water-powered 10,000-kilogram (23,000 lb) sawmill came for a short period to produce lumber for the hatchery buildings. The main building, which was 46 by 12 metres (150 by 40 ft), had a 25-million egg capacity. The nearby two-storey boarding house was 4.9 by 7.3 metres (16 by 24 ft). Trapping fences were installed in the Birkenhead River. Prior to closure in 1936, the hatchery provided various part-time local employment.[30]

In 1908, Samuel Spetch relocated his store/post office from Birken.[31] He was the inaugural Owl Creek postmaster 1908–1929.[32] By 1918, his house was one of the few in the district with indoor plumbing.[33] At the time, he also had a water-powered sawmill at Owl Creek and another mill at Spetch Siding.[34]

During the era, the continuous forest bordering the Pemberton Portage hosted several pole and tie manufacturers.[35]

Sam Spetch's petitioning was instrumental in the creation of the Correspondence Branch of the BC Department of Education in 1919. His children were the first three students.[36]

In 1929, A.William (Bill) Spetch took over his father's store at Owl Creek, which thrived from both the hatchery and valley customer base.[37] By 1937, Bill had moved the store/post office to Creekside.[23]

Owl Creek now comprises scattered rural properties.

Road and railway access has been similar to Pemberton. The northward advance of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) rail head passed in November 1914.[38] The nearest train stations in 1922 were about 7.6 kilometres (4.7 mi) northeast at Spetch and 7.9 kilometres (4.9 mi) west at Pemberton. By 1947, the regular stops northeastward from Pemberton were 7.4 kilometres (4.6 mi) to Chilsampton, 1.0 kilometre (0.6 mi) to Creekside, 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) to Owl Creek, and 19.2 kilometres (11.9 mi) to Birken.[39] By 1959, the flag stops northeastward from Mount Currie were 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) to Spetch and then 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) to Birken.[40]

The mainstays of agriculture and forestry have since been supplemented by tourism and service-based industries, where improved internet has enabled professionals to work from home. Flooding presents the greatest hazard in the area.[16]

The annual Lillooet Lake Rodeo continues to be held at Mount Currie in May.[41]

• Decker, Frances; Fougberg, Margaret; Ronayne, Mary (1978). Pemberton: The History of a Settlement, rev. ed. Pemberton Pioneer Women.