Nicomen Island

Template:Use Canadian English Nicomen Island is an island in the Fraser Valley region of southwestern British Columbia. Nicomen Mountain in the Douglas Ranges lies to the north across Nicomen Slough. Chilliwack Mountain lies to the south across the Fraser River. Adjacent to the northeast is Skumalasph Island. Dewdney, which by road is about east of Mission, extends onto the northwestern end of the island. Deroche, which by road is about west of Agassiz extends onto the northeastern end.

First Nations

Several First Nations reserves exist on the island and in the vicinity. Suggested meanings for Nicomen (Nickcöhrn-men) (Halkomelem) are 'level part', 'part (people) travel to', 'place cut through by a water course', or 'near a big creek'.Template:Sfn

The traditional peoples had contact possibly with the Spanish in the 1790s but definitely with fur traders a decade later.Template:Sfn Haida war canoes frequently travelled up the river to plunder the villages and take slaves. The original Fort Langley, which was established in 1827, quickly realized that defending against Haida raids was a priority for local First Nations, rather than hunting and bringing in pelts to the fur trading post. Eventually, the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fort opened fire on a passing war party, which deterred future raids and allowed the local people to return to a more peaceful existence.Template:Sfn

In 1846, the HBC established a fish-curing plant at the mouth of the Chilliwack River, opposite the eastern end of the island, where the local people could bring canoe loads of salmon. The plant operated for about a decade.Template:Sfn

Early European community

The northeastern portion, which was pioneered by Joseph Deroche and known as "North Nicomen", is outlined in Deroche. The remainder, called "Nicomen", was settled by James Codville in the mid-1860s. About downstream from Deroche Landing, Codville LandingTemplate:Sfn was at the foot of present McDonald Rd.Template:Sfn Codville sold animal feed to passersby on the river and wintered their livestock on his holding. He also ran a hotel. It unclear whether the ferry services were just passing but also across the river.Template:Sfn During 1865–1866, he operated the first rural post office in mainland BC, before the facility moved to the mouth of the Sumas River.Template:Sfn In 1869, Samuel McDonald purchased the property.Template:Sfn

In the 1880s, a few farms were established at the western end of the island.Template:Sfn As of 1892, only 6% of the land was cultivated, 72% being woodland, and 22% swamp/pasture. Spring freshets regularly flooded much of the island, making crop growing secondary to raising livestock. The 1894 flood was especially extreme.Template:Sfn

In 1892, an area from Norrish Creek (mid-island) east to the Harrison River mouth was incorporated as the Nicomen municipality but existed only on paper.Template:Sfn The inactive body vanished within a few years.

William Brown was the inaugural official postmaster 1890–1900. Brown was a blacksmith and wheelwright, who lived at the western end near Dewdney.Template:Sfn By 1895, Thomas Patton had opened a store, likely in the same area.Template:Sfn

Mid-island, immediately southeast of present day Johnson Rd on the Nicomen Island Trunk Rd, the first Nicomen Island school opened in 1890.Template:Sfn The building was also used for community events.Template:Sfn

J.S. Ashley Cooper opened a store at McDonald Landing and was postmaster 1900–1902. On leaving, his brother Austin D. Cooper moved from Deroche to take over the store and was postmaster 1903–1907.Template:Sfn The store unlikely survived more than a year or two longer.Template:Sfn

In 1912, a Baptist church was erected on the corner of McDiarmid Rd.Template:Sfn In 1916, the school building was replaced.Template:Sfn

The island was diked on the Fraser side in 1923 and the slough side in 1929.Template:Sfn

The Baptist church closed in the early 1940s.Template:Sfn The building became the community hall in 1945Template:Sfn but was demolished in the 1970s.Template:Sfn

Transportation developments align with those of Deroche.

Erosion over the decades washed away huge acreages especially around McDonald Landing and the reserve to the west.Template:Sfn As the river rose during the 1948 flood, residents and livestock evacuated much of the islandTemplate:Sfn before the dike burst, destroying bridges and buildings. Stragglers were rescued from rooftops. Poultry and livestock losses were significant.Template:Sfn

Later community

The of diking around the island protects the agricultural lands. However, sections that are too steep or too low are vulnerable to a major flooding event. To reduce this risk, provincial grants in 2017 provided $6 million to widen dikes and $4.5 million to upgrade the pumping system. However, any repeat of the 1894 flood would still spill over the top. A 2015 report estimated a cost of $65 million to upgrade the whole diking system to modern standards.

In 2017, the British Columbia Court of Appeal reversed the decision of a lower court by dismissing the claims by the great grandchildren of Samuel McDonald for a larger share of the McDonald Landing Farms Ltd assets following their father's death in 2005.

By 2020, the school building was derelict, having sat empty for over a decade.

In 2021, a proposal for a greenway around the island was in the early planning stages.

See also

• Nicomen Mountain
• Nicoamen River
• Nicoamen Plateau