History
All historical photos courtesy of Royal BC Museum and Archives.
Butedale was founded by John Wallace in 1911 as a fishing, mining and logging camp. Initially the salmon cannery was established by Western Packers which was purchased and operated by the Canadian Fishing Company until it ceased operating in the 1950s. At its peak the summertime population of Butedale was over 400 people.
Butedale took its name from the Bute family – influential British aristocrats. Charles Stuart, grandson of British Primeminister John Stuart – 3rd Earl of Bute, was a master’s mate on captain Vancouver’s ship Discovery. The name for Bute Inlet and Bute Street (in the city of Vancouver, BC) has the same provenience.