Beatton River
The area around the river is the homeland of the Dane-zaa or Beaver First Nation. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation in the area dating back at least 10,000 years. The mouth of the Beatton River was the location of a Northwest Company fort established in 1806. Modern-day British Columbia's first European settlement was fur trading Rocky Mountain Fort, established in 1794 at the mouth of the Moberly River near the present Fort St. John. The river became an important route for First Nations people in their trading relationship with the Europeans. The present community of Fort St. John is west of the Beatton.
The river, originally called the "North Pine" is named for Frank Beaton (1863–1944), the manager of the Hudson's Bay Company post in the early twentieth century, who homesteaded by the river. Beaton spelled his name with one "t" but the river is now spelled Beatton.
See also
External links
- Beatton River Provincial Park is located at the confluence of the Beatton and Peace Rivers.
- The History of Fort St. John provides this excellent history of First Nations habitation along the Beatton River.
- Frank Beatton: The Bridge Between Fur and Farm offers insight into the life of the man for whom the river is named, and the transitional history of the region in the early twentieth century.