Knutsford near Stump Lake in Thompson-Nicola, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)

Empire of Grass

B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), June 22, 2016

1. Empire of Grass Marker

Inscription. Back in the 1870's the bunchgrass hereabouts came up to a horse's belly. Some of the transient miners saw wealth in these broad rolling grasslands and swapped gold-pan for saddle. In time several “spreads” in the Nicola Valley grew to rank among the world's largest cattle ranches. “Cow country” it remains — its fortunes rooted in grass.

Erected by British Columbia Department of Recreation and Conservation.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.

Location. 50° 24.337′ N, 120° 18.776′ W. Marker is near Stump Lake, British Columbia, in Thompson-Nicola. It is in Knutsford. Marker is on Princeton-Kamloops Highway (Provincial Highway 5A) 1.6 kilometers north of Long Lake Road, on the right when traveling north. Marker is in Napier Lake overlook. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Stump Lake BC V0E 2R0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Also see . . .
1. Nicola Country. Wikipedia entry on the region, created by the Nicola River and named for a prominent First Nations chief. (Submitted on December 13, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

2. Ranch + Cattle. History of Douglas Lake Ranch, one of the largest cattle ranches in the world. (Douglas Lake

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Cattle Co.) (Submitted on December 13, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Douglas Lake Ranch image. Click for full size.

By Tjflex2 vis Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), May 19, 2014

2. Douglas Lake Ranch

The ranch, one of the largest in the world with 1.2 million acres, dates back to pioneer John Douglas Sr. homesteading his first 320 acres along the shore of Douglas Lake.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 125 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2. submitted on December 13, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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