HEFFLEY CREEK THROUGH THE YEARS: FROM CAMELS TO CURRENT DAY

Heffley Creek is the northernmost community within the City of Kamloops boundaries, located 27 kilometres north of the city centre. It has grown in popularity in recent years due to its proximity to Sun Peaks, but what brought early settlers to the area in the mid-1800s?

SPIN took a dive into the history of the area and uncovered the quirky stories that make this community unique.

All Kamloops communities are located on the traditional unceded territory of the Secwepemc Peoples.

In 1811, three non-Indigenous fur traders came to Kamloops to begin trading with the Secwépemc community. By the 1850s, an influx of gold miners came to the area.

Once the Colony of British Columbia was established, the government wanted to build up settlements and encouraged tax-paying landowners to move to the area. Settlers began getting access to land ownership, and the Indigenous Peoples were segregated onto reserves.

These new settlements launched farming activity in the region, which led the first settler, Adam Heffley, to what is now known as Heffley Creek.

Heffley, an American rancher, came to the region as a mining prospector in the gold rush of 1858. At that time, the area was known as Bourdignon Creek.

Heffley spent years raising horses on his ranch and working as a packer, but his biggest claim to fame was his attempt to use camels as cargo animals to carry pack supplies to the Cariboo goldfields.

The British Colonist, a daily newspaper out of Victoria, published an advertisement when the camels first went up for sale March 1, 1862 arguing for the camels’ likely success.

The ad reads: “Their greatest recommendation to Cariboo packers appears to lie in their long legs, which will enable them to breast deep snow-drifts, the merest sight of which would disturb the equanimity of the strongest-nerved or best-conducted jackass in British Columbia.”

On March 15, the newspaper followed up on the ad announcing John C. Colbreath of Lillooet was persuaded and bought the camels for $300 each. Colbreath was the representative for the operation of using camels to haul freight, and was working alongside Heffley.

The caravan of camels arrived in British Columbia by the following month and were sent out with supplies for the first time in May 1862.

In hindsight, it comes as no surprise that the camels were not used to the rough terrain. Further stories from the Colonist reported that the camels were so tired they had to climb up mountains on their knees and that one camel died after sliding off into a creek.

“Cushion-footed camels were as unsuited to the rock trails and hardpan of the Cariboo as jellyfish on a sidewalk,” read a 1968 article written about the operation. “Drivers, who had a sneaking affection for their charges, concocted boots from canvas and rawhide but those were quickly worn to shreds.”

But the abuse wasn’t the last straw — what is considered to have been the biggest contributor to their downfall was the camels demeanour. They were “grumpy” and scared the stagecoach horses. Since this was the only source of transportation at the time, the stagecoach drivers threatened legal action.

Heffley and the other men admitted defeat and gave up on the camels after a year.

By Kayla Empey

What happened to the camels afterwards is unknown. Some old stories claim they were let loose beside the Thompson River, and that one camel was shot by a man who mistook it for a grizzly bear and the meat was served at a local restaurant. Others claim the camels were taken in at ranches. Unconfirmed camel sightings around the region were reported for many years after.

In 1871, Heffley died of a heart attack.

After his death, Heffley’s land was bought by John Thomas (J.T.) Edwards for over $4,000 — a considerable amount at the time. Edwards quickly became a prominent rancher in the area, raising horses and large herds of cattle.

He became so prominent in fact, the area was renamed from Bourdignon Creek to Edwards Creek.

Not long after, more settlers began moving to the valley. Recognizable settlers include Michael Sullivan and James Knoff, who now have lakes in the area named after them. Both of their properties were later bought by Edwards as he monopolized the region throughout the late 1880s.

However, in the mid-1890s, a cold winter hit Edwards hard. Many of his cattle froze to death, forcing him to give up his ranch due to financial loss.

Edwards sold the ranch to Sullivan, who chose to rent out the property.

What many people don’t know is Vinsulla, the small community north of Heffley Creek, is named after Sullivan. Years after his death, the Canadian National Railway wanted to honour Sullivan by naming a train stop after him. There was already another stop in the Fraser Valley called Sullivan, but since they had created the sign with the name printed on it, they cut it and moved around the pieces to create ‘Vinsulla.’

The name of the area, lake and creek officially became Heffley Creek when the post office was established in 1905. However, it continued to be known as Edwards Creek for years after.

The post office operated out of the Heffley Creek store, which was built as part of a hotel a few years prior. Ownership of the store changed many times over the years and is still the same store known and loved today, alongside the gas station.

The first school was built in 1909 to accommodate the influx of children, who were born as more settlers arrived to the area. The school was in operation for about four years, and served as a multi-use gathering space for meetings and church services, before being turned into a full-time church around 1913.

At that point, the school was moved to another location across the creek, before the current Heffley Creek School opened in the 1950s.

Another prominent feature of the current community is Heffley Creek Hall, operated by the Heffley Creek Community Recreation Association. There was an original wooden community hall that was destroyed by a fire in 1968, and the current hall was built in 1970.

Heffley Creek was then amalgamated as a part of the City of Kamloops, alongside other communities in 1973.

Today, the community continues to grow in population as an ideal location between Kamloops and Sun Peaks.