Terry Hurst
Lost Street Names
Edward John Tronson, born October 1842 in Kilkenny, Ireland, journeyed by sailing ship around ‘The Horn’, suffering a shipwreck in the Falkland Islands en route.
He spent two or three years in Victoria before coming to Vernon in 1867.
On July 11, 1868, he pre-empted a 160-acre strip of land that ran along the north side of BX Creek, from the western boundary of Luc Girouard’s pre-emption in the east toward Okanagan Landing on the west.
Settling down, he married Nancy Louis, a full-blooded Syilx woman, sister of Chief Gaston Louis of Okanagan Indian Band No. 1 on July 27, 1873.
For the next few years, the family moved about, residing at Okanagan Mission in 1878 and at Pleasant Valley (Spallumcheen) in 1882. Over the years they raised a family of seven children.
On May 23, 1883, the Priest Valley School was established with E.J. Tronson, Alfred McNeil and Price Ellison as trustees.
The school opened on Oct. 22, 1884, with Miss Sophia C. Johnson (soon to be Ellison), as teacher. There were three Tronson children attending.
Some time earlier, Tronson had formed a partnership with Charles Brewer. The firm of Tronson and Brewer was well known in early days as a large ranching and lumber concern and their mill was located on the creek in what is now Polson Park.
In 1885, Tronson and Brewer laid out the townsite of Centreville. In that same year, Tronson built the Victoria Hotel which was located on the southeast corner of Coldstream Avenue and 34th Street (now the site of Orchard Valley Retirement Residence). It became a leading hotel in the community.
E. J. Tronson was a prominent member of a growing community for over 40 years and was well known for his willingness to contribute to the good of the community and its people. He owned land in Vernon, Okanagan Landing, the Commonage and Armstrong.
Suffering from kidney and bladder problems, Tronson entered the Jubilee Hospital in Victoria where he passed away in January 1909.
He was buried in Victoria and Price Ellison was a pallbearer.
Tronson’s oldest son, George, married Louisa Margaret Vernon, daughter of Forbes Vernon and Catherine Kalamalka.
They lived at both the Head-of-the-Lake and Whiteman’s Creek.
They also raised a family of seven, three sons and four daughters.
Born in Vernon, Terry Hurst has had a life-long passion for Vernon’s history. She is author of Vernon and District Pioneer Routes, the stories behind the area’s street names, published by the Vernon Branch of the Okanagan Historical Society in 1996. Watch for future columns recounting the origins of road and street names in the BX, Coldstream and Okanagan Landing.
READ MORE: Vernon’s lost street names
READ MORE: Ground breaks on Okanagan Indian Band’s Cultural Immersion School
