Spallumcheen

Spallumcheen, BC, incorporated as a district municipality in 1892, population 5055 (2011c), 4960 (2006c). The Township of Spallumcheen is located about seven kilometres north of VERNON and completely encloses the city of ARMSTRONG. The name derives from the Shuswap word "spalmtsin" meaning "flat area along edge." Among the first settlers were members of the famous OVERLANDERS, who had trekked across Canada in 1862 to reach the gold-diggings of the Cariboo but who gave up prospecting for farming. The first settlers raised vegetables, grain and a few cattle, but when the CPR arrived, giving transportation to markets, wheat became the main crop. In the drier southern part of the district agriculturalists use dryland farming techniques to produce grain, hay, field peas and beans, while in the northern part, where rainfall is somewhat heavier, dairy farming predominates. In recent years new residential development, as well as new industries, have reduced the importance of agriculture.