Location
The Village of Lytton is in Nlaka’pamux Territory, in the B.C. Interior. It sits at the confluence of the Thompson and Fraser rivers, where Highway 12 connects with the Trans-Canada Highway.
Lytton is surrounded by forests of ponderosa pine and Douglas fir, sagebrush and rabbitbrush, and soapberry and saskatoon bushes. The hills are rich with wildlife (deer, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes) and the rivers are rich with salmon.
The Coast, Cascade, and Clear mountain ranges meet here, and the dry climate contributes to the intense summer heat that Lytton is known for.
History
Lytton is one of the longest continuously inhabited communities in North America. The Nlaka‘pamux have lived here for 10,000 years, since the end of the last glacial period, their culture thriving in the area’s natural abundance. The Nlaka‘pamuxcin name for the village is Tl'ḵémtsin.
The first documented arrival of Europeans in the area was in 1808, when Simon Fraser and a small group of explorers arrived at the confluence. In 1858, Hudson’s Bay Company buildings were moved to Tl'ḵémtsin and Governor James Douglas renamed the settlement after Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the secretary of state for the colonies.
Lytton was an important staging point during the fur trade, the Cariboo Gold Rush, and the construction of the Cariboo Wagon Road, Canadian Pacific Railway, and Canadian National Railway. Its history weaves together the stories of Chinese, Italian, British, and other European settlers with Nlaka’pamux oral history.
For most of the 20th century, Lytton was a bustling hub on the route from Vancouver to the Interior. When the Coquihalla Highway opened in 1986, traffic decreased and many businesses closed. Then, with the closure of the town’s biggest employer, Lytton Lumber, in 2007, the population of the village decreased substantially. Still, Lytton remained a vibrant small town with a rich heritage and strong sense of community.
2021 Lytton fire
On June 30, 2021, one day after experiencing the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, a fire tore through Lytton and the surrounding area. Most of the village, including the entire downtown core, was destroyed. Two people died, residents were scattered, and Lytton was forever changed.
Recovery has been slow and challenging at times, but the Village of Lytton is focused on moving forward. With time, Lytton will be a thriving community again.
Population
Before the fire, the Village of Lytton had a population of 210, according to the 2021 Statistics Canada Census. Most of these residents were displaced by the fire.
Several thousand people live in the surrounding regional district and the neighbouring Nlaka’pamux communities of Lytton First Nation (Tl'ḵémtsin), Skuppah, Siska, Kanaka Bar (T’eqt’aqtn’mux), Nicomen, and Cook's Ferry.
Local government
The Village of Lytton, which incorporated in 1945, is the local government. The Village Council consists of an elected mayor and four councillors who serve a four-year term.
The Village is responsible for providing these municipal services, and more: