Barnhartvale, originally Barnhart Vale, is located at the southeast end of Kamloops

Kamloops, British Columbia

Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...

, south of Dallas in 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...

. The area includes riding stable

Stable

A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals...

s, farm

Farm

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...

s, honey bee farms, and ranch

Ranch

A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...

es. There is a local store called Happy Valley Foods, and a local elementary school, Robert L. Clemitson. The main road which runs through Barnhartvale is Barnhartvale Road. Todd Road and Pratt Road are the main accesses through the subdivided western portion of Barnhartvale. In 1973, Barnhartvale and other outlying communities were amalgamated with the City of Kamloops.

History

Barnhartvale was originally referred to as Campbell Creek or Campbell's Creek until 1909. It is now named after Peter Barnhart

Peter Barnhart

Peter Barnhart was the person after whom Barnhartvale, British Columbia, Canada is named. Barnhart was the conductor on the first Canadian Pacific Railway transcontinental train in 1886.]], In 1905 Barnhart purchased property in what was then known as Campbell Creek and in 1906 opened a post...

, who was the conductor on the first CPR

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 train through Kamloops. He moved to Campbell Creek and opened a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 and in 1909 the name was changed to Barnhart Vale Post. In 1978 the spelling was formally changed to one word, Barnhartvale.

1865 marks the beginning of the written history of the area later named Barnhartvale. That was the year that James Todd

James Todd

In 1865, James Todd and his family established a ranch south-east of Kamloops, British Columbia. He and Lewis Campbell could be considered the first settlers of Barnhartvale, British Columbia.- Starting out in North America :...

 and Lewis (Lew) Campbell

Lewis (Lew) Campbell

Lewis Campbell was a pioneer rancher in the Kamloops, area of western Canada. He and James Todd were the first settlers in what is now Barnhartvale, British Columbia....

, the first two pioneers, arrived. The next settlers in the region were John and William McLeod in 1879. A major road in the area is named after the Robert and Henry Pratt

Robert and Henry Pratt

Robert and Henry Pratt were brothers who were the first settlers in central Barnhartvale, British Columbia, Canada. 'Pratt Road', a main residential access, is named after them....

families who occupied the bulk of the valley after 1890.