Monte Creek


Monte Creek is a rural locality on the South Thompson River east of Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, approximately equidistant from Kamloops and the village of Chase, British Columbia. It is mostly notable as a major highway junction where British Columbia Highway 97 branches off from the Trans-Canada Highway south towards the Okanagan via Falkland and Westwold. Monte Lake, a recreational community on the shores of the lake of the same name, is a few miles south of the junction.

History

Monte Creek was originally known as "Ducks" after the English settler who first ranched there, Jacob Ducks, who also was its first postmaster. The original name of the post office was "Duck and Pringles." In 1888, the Monte Creek Ranch was purchased by publisher Hewitt Bostock, who took up residence there with his family in 1894.
The name Monte has two possible origins. One is from the name of an early settler, Alphonse Matteo. The other comes from the steep climb out of the South Thompson River valley to the route to the Okanagan region, which was referred to as "la monteé" by early explorers. "Monteé" appears on an 1858 map of region. On September 4, 1904, Monte Creek - then still known as "Ducks" - was the site of the last train robbery by the "Gentleman Bandit" Bill Miner.