Alvin, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Alvin is an unincorporated locality just north of the head of Pitt Lake
in the Lower Mainland
of southwestern British Columbia
, Canada
.
Alvin was formerly located at the homestead and farm of Alvin Thomas Patterson (1865–1942), a logging contractor and farmer who settled there about 1901, originally from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
. A post office operated at that location from 1915 to 1955. In 1959 a new post office opened at the confluence of Fish Hatchery Creek and the Pitt River
4 miles upstream from the original site. It was operating as late as 1982 with the postal code V0M 1C0.
The Alvin area has been the site of various logging-related industrial operations, which connected to the outside world via tug and barge traffic on Pitt Lake and the Pitt River. The last logging camp closed down in 1991. There was once a fish hatchery in the area, as indicated by the name of the creek at the modern site of Alvin.
Cleanup of an industrial garbage dump near the river's banks became an issue of concern to sport fishermen, as the Pitt is a river noted for steelhead fishing. The issue came to a head in 2005 when the Pitt River shifted course and began eroding the dump, sending debris downstream. Eventually, 25 000 tonnes of waste and contaminated soil were removed from the area.
Pitt Lake
Pitt Lake is the second-largest lake in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, being about 53.5 square kilometres in area. It is about 25 km long and about 4.5 km wide at its widest, and is also one of the world's largest tidal lakes, its confluence with the Fraser being only a few miles upstream...
in the Lower Mainland
Lower Mainland
The Lower Mainland is a name commonly applied to the region surrounding and including Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. As of 2007, 2,524,113 people live in the region; sixteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located there.While the term Lower Mainland has been...
of southwestern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Alvin was formerly located at the homestead and farm of Alvin Thomas Patterson (1865–1942), a logging contractor and farmer who settled there about 1901, originally from Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro, Nova Scotia
Parrsboro is a Canadian town located in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia.The town is known for its port on the Minas Basin, the Ship's Company Theatre productions and the Fundy Geological Museum.-History:...
. A post office operated at that location from 1915 to 1955. In 1959 a new post office opened at the confluence of Fish Hatchery Creek and the Pitt River
Pitt River
The Pitt River in British Columbia, Canada is a large tributary of the Fraser River, entering it a few miles upstream from New Westminster and about 25 km ESE of Downtown Vancouver. The river, which begins in the Garibaldi Ranges of the Coast Mountains, is in two sections above and below Pitt...
4 miles upstream from the original site. It was operating as late as 1982 with the postal code V0M 1C0.
The Alvin area has been the site of various logging-related industrial operations, which connected to the outside world via tug and barge traffic on Pitt Lake and the Pitt River. The last logging camp closed down in 1991. There was once a fish hatchery in the area, as indicated by the name of the creek at the modern site of Alvin.
Cleanup of an industrial garbage dump near the river's banks became an issue of concern to sport fishermen, as the Pitt is a river noted for steelhead fishing. The issue came to a head in 2005 when the Pitt River shifted course and began eroding the dump, sending debris downstream. Eventually, 25 000 tonnes of waste and contaminated soil were removed from the area.