Masset, British Columbia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Village of Masset | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Region | Queen Charlotte Islands |
| Regional district | Skeena-Queen Charlotte |
| Incorporated | 1961 |
| Government | |
| - Governing body | Masset Village Council |
| - Mayor | Barry Pages |
| Area | |
| - Total | 19.45 km² (7.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| - Total | 940 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| Highways | 16 |
| Waterways | Dixon Entrance |
Masset ([ˈmæsɪt]) is a village in the Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii) in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of mainland British Columbia. It is the western terminus of the Yellowhead Highway.
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[edit] Name
The name Masset was a gift from the Captain of a Spanish vessel that was repaired with the assistance of the Haida citizens of Atewaas, Kayung and Jaaguhl. These three villages accepted the gift and adopted the name Masset to commemorate what might be the first ever contact between Europeans and the Haida nation.
During the early years of Canadian colonization the name Masset and the post office were adopted by the former Reverend Charles Harrison as part of his scheme to sell land. Incidentally this was Haida land that was paper claimed, but contravened both British and Canadian Constitutional law by being parceled out to a select group of British subjects.
The name Masset is currently in use by the Village of Masset, a municipality under Canada legislation and the Village of Old Masset, the original recipient of the name and a village under the Constitution of the Haida Nation.
According to Walbran[1] Masset came from the Haida word, Masst or large island. Captain Douglas, on his second visit from Nootka Sound aboard the Iphigenia on June 19, 1789 named the bay leading to the inlet McIntyre's Bay. This name was used on the charts of Dixon and Meares. The American traders called the inlet, Hancock's River as shown in Ingraham's chart of 1792 after the American brig Hancock. In 1853 H.N. Knox of the Royal Navy, mate on HMS Virago, did a sketch survey of the harbour when the name Masset was adopted by the British. A survey was made in 1907 by Captain Learmouth on HMS Egeria.
[edit] References
- ^ Walbran, Captain John T. (1971), British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History (Facsimile reprint of 1909 edition ed.), Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 0-88894-143-9
[edit] External Links
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[edit] References
- ^ Walbran, Captain John T. (1971), British Columbia Place Names, Their Origin and History (Facsimile reprint of 1909 edition ed.), Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 0-88894-143-9
