Mara Lake#Two Mile

John Andrew Mara owned significant ranch land between Enderby and Sicamous.{{Cite web | url=https://www.travel-british-columbia.com/thompson-okanagan/shuswap/mara |title=Mara |website=www.travel-british-columbia.com}} He is remembered in the local names of Mara,{{cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcbooks/1.0354321#p89z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Gosnell |first=R. Edward |page=90 (80) |title=The Year book of British Columbia and manual of provincial information |year=1897 |website=library.ubc.ca}}{{BCGNIS|5541|Mara (community)}} Mara Lake,{{BCGNIS|40701|Mara Lake (lake)}} Mara Point,{{BCGNIS|39051|Mara Point (point)}} Mara Creek,{{BCGNIS|5540|Mara Creek (creek)}} Mara Provincial Park,{{BCGNIS|5545|Mara Park (provincial park)}} Mount Mara,{{BCGNIS|5546|Mount Mara (mount)}} and Mara Meadows.{{BCGNIS|5543|Mara Meadows (meadow)}}

The lake was originally considered an arm of Shuswap Lake, which in due course adopted the Mara Arm identity.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132193#p66z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Doe |first=Ernest |title=Okanagan Historical Society: Salmon Arm |date=1950 |page=67 (65) |website=library.ubc.ca}} The Mara Lake name first appeared in provincial documentation in the mid-1880s,{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0060686#p32z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=33 (269) |title=Commissioner of Land and Works annual report, 1884 |website=library.ubc.ca}} when the lake designation began to supersede the arm one. This corresponded with the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) transcontinental construction.

In May 1891, the southward advance of the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway (S&O) rail head from Sicamous along the western side of the lake passed through Enderby.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/kootstar/1.0310265#p3z-3r0f:%22Enderby%22 |page=4 |title=Kootenay Star |date=30 May 1891 |website=library.ubc.ca}} The location of the neighboring station, which CP named as Mara, positioned the subsequent community.{{cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcbooks/1.0222386#p20z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Begg |first=Alexander |page=21 (19) |title=Hand-book and general guide to British Columbia. May 1893 |year=1893 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

The Secwepemc (Shuswap) First Nations have long inhabited the shores of Shuswap and Mara lakes, evidenced by the presence of pit-houses dating back over 3,200 years.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=11}} At Black Point Rock,{{BCGNIS|5690|Black Point (point)}} early settler Fred Dean observed pictographs on the rocks. Remains of an indigenous camp were found near King-Baker Creek{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=374}} in 1958, where two atlatl weights were discovered buried at the entrance to a small cave.{{cite journal | url=https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/midden/issue/view/1028 |last=Fladmark |first=K.R. |title=The Midden: Two Atlatl Weights from the Southern Interior |date=Feb 1987 |volume=XIX |issue=1 |page=8 (7) |website=journals.uvic.ca}}

From the early 1820s, the people brought furs to trade at the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) fort at Kamloops.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=20}} By the 1840s, an HBC outpost opened on the western slopes of Mara Lake.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=11}}

A Splats'in First Nation reserve is on the west shore at the northern end of the lake.{{BCGNIS|65075|Sicamous 3 (reserve)}}

The lake forms the northern extreme of the Okanagan Valley. During the Last Glacial Period (LGP), glaciers filled this valley.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=371}} Prior to mechanical refrigerators, blocks of ice were cut from the lake each winter.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=85}}{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/epnoh/1.0353325#p0z-2r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=The Enderby Progress and Northern Okanagan Herald |date=23 Feb 1906 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

File:Mara Lake, BC (6196565585).jpg

The lake is {{convert|35.3|km|mi}} long.{{Cite web | url=https://ca.geoview.info/mara_lake,145652029w |title=Mara Lake |website=ca.geoview.info}} The surface area is about {{convert|1943|ha|acre}} and elevation is {{convert|338|m}} above sea level. The mean and maximum depth is {{convert|18|m}}.{{Cite web | url=http://www.fishbc.com/adventure/explore/ok/mabel/mara.htm |title=Mara Lake |website=www.fishbc.com}}

In 1907, the last of the steamboats making regular trips from Savona was destroyed by fire.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1907&f_month=5&f_day=17 |page=A4 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=17 May 1907 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1998, when a tanker truck rolled down an embankment into the lake, {{convert|34000|l|usgal impgal}} of heavy asphalt oil sank to the bottom forming large sticky clumps.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1998&f_month=7&f_day=24 |page=A4 |title=Kamloops Daily Sentinel |date=24 Jul 1998 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 2012, a flash flood swept at least four vehicles into the lake and damaged some houseboats.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=2012&f_month=6&f_day=25 |page=A2 |title=Kamloops Daily News |date=25 Jun 2012 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} Days later, a {{convert|20000|l|usgal impgal|adj=on}} gas tanker truck plunged into the lake.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=2012&f_month=6&f_day=29 |page=A2 |title=Kamloops Daily News |date=29 Jun 2012 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

The Okanagan Valley was progressively settled northward. Defining the Mara community as stretching from the southern tip of the lake to about {{convert|1.3|km|mi|1}} south of the Riverside Rd junction, homesteaders did not arrive until the mid-1880s.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132211#p123z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Bell |first=James |title=Okanagan Historical Society: Mara, Early Days and Records |date=1971 |pages=124–125 (120–121) |website=library.ubc.ca}} Prior to the S&O construction in 1891, the Red Star II replaced the stage in carrying freight and mail upstream during the summer months.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132230#p40z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Mather |first=Ken |title=Okanagan Historical Society: Stagecoaches in the North Okanagan 1872–1892 |date=1988 |page=41 (39) |website=library.ubc.ca}}

The more significant early settlers were John (1885) and Marie (1889) Moser,{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132198#p85z-4r0f:%22Moser%22 |last=Bearcroft |first=Mary Evelyn |title=Okanagan Historical Society: John and Marie Moser – Early Pioneers |date=1960 |pages=86–87 (84–85) |website=library.ubc.ca}} Thomas Gray (1887), Rev Joseph Edward Rosoman (1893), Dave Shannon (1895), and Fred Dean (1901).

S. Appleby was the inaugural postmaster 1893–1895. Members of the Rosoman family held this position 1896–1949.{{cite web |url=https://recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/home/record?app=posoffposmas&IdNumber=4277 |title=Postmasters |website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca}}

In August 1895, the school opened.{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0063931#p84z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=85 (261) |title=Public Schools annual report, 1895–96 |website=library.ubc.ca}} To provide permanent accommodation, a one-room log schoolhouse was erected in 1898.{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0064103#p77z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=78 (804) |title=Commissioner of Land and Works annual report, 1898 |website=library.ubc.ca}} By this time on the west shore, a general store{{Cite web | url=https://enderbymuseum.ca/pdfs/MuseumNewsletter_winter2021_final.pdf#page=7 |pages=7–8 |title=Enderby & District Museum: Museum News |year=2021 |website=enderbymuseum.ca}} and community hall existed.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1899&f_month=1&f_day=24 |page=A1 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=24 Jan 1899 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1900, a one-room frame building replaced the schoolhouse.

In 1904, Robert Mowat made Mara the base for his portable sawmill,{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1904&f_month=3&f_day=18 |page=A2 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=18 Mar 1904 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} admitted J.L.Ruttan as a partner, and upgraded to a {{convert|20000|ft|m|adj=on|order=flip}} daily capacity mill, called the Rothesay Lumber Co.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xkootmail/1.0181853#p1z-1r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=2 |title=Kootenay Mail |date=21 May 1904 |website=library.ubc.ca}} The mill was located near the east end of the bridge.

By 1905, a hotel existed{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/pwv/1.0344189#p4z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=5 |title=Week |date=15 Apr 1905 |website=library.ubc.ca}} but may have been little more than the mill boarding house.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1906&f_month=7&f_day=6 |page=A3 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=6 Jul 1906 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1907, the cemetery was established.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/epnoh/1.0353302#p0z-3r0f:%22cemetery%22 |page=1 |title=The Enderby Progress and Northern Okanagan Herald |date=7 Jun 1907 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1909, a new store and residence/boarding house were erected.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0178675#p9z-5r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=10 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=1 Apr 1909 |website=library.ubc.ca}} Weeks later, the station and bridge were saved in the May fire, but the sawmill, numerous residences, and other structures were lost.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132189#p109z-4r0ftps://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132189#p109z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Pido |first=Beryl |title=Okanagan Historical Society: The Mara Fire 1909 |date=1952 |pages=110–113 (108–111) |website=library.ubc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1909&f_month=5&f_day=7 |page=A1 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=7 May 1909 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} The Rothesay liquidator tendered for sale salvageable items from the uninsured mill.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0178676#p9z-4r0f:%22tender%22 |page=10 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=13 May 1909 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

Opening in 1911 were a new hotel{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0178747#p0z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=20 Jul 1911 |website=library.ubc.ca}} and new hall.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0178765#p0z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=28 Sep 1911 |website=library.ubc.ca}} The next year, the Anglican church building opened.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0178831#p0z-4r0f:%22church%22 |page=1 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=5 Sep 1912 |website=library.ubc.ca}} In 1917, the two-room frame schoolhouse was erected. About this time, Thomas Gray operated a small store on his east shore farm.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0340357#p50z-4r0f:%22store%22 |last=Noakes |first=Estelle |title=Okanagan Historical Society: The Gray Family – Over 100 years in Mara |date=2010 |page=51 (49) |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1968, the west side store relocated to the present highway location, being called the Mara Foodliner.

In 1970, the community hall was extended.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1970&f_month=12&f_day=30 |page=A12 |title=Kamloops Daily Sentinel |date=30 Dec 1970 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1975, the post office and school closed.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=402}}

South of Sicamous, in a clockwise direction, are the following:

About {{convert|4|km|mi|0}} south of Sicamous on the east shore of Mara Lake, Ross Graham ran a sawmill for about a decade, before burning down in 1949. The site later became the Two Mile Trailer Court,{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=291}} which was renamed the Sicamous Creek Mobile Home Park. In 2019, Brent Misura purchased the property. Two years later, he sought planning approval for five more units.{{Cite web | url=https://www.todayinbc.com/news/5-new-rental-units-proposed-at-sicamous-creek-mobile-home-park |title=Today in BC |date=13 Jun 2021 |website=www.todayinbc.com}}

Weather-related evacuation alerts are common for the community.{{Cite web | url=https://bc.ctvnews.ca/mobile/threat-of-landslide-prompts-evacuation-alert-for-part-of-b-c-community-1.5890697?cache=uctjbkxxgybk?clipId=68596 |title=CTV News |date=5 May 2022 |website=ctvnews.ca}}

Swansea Point is a {{convert|0.5|km2|mi2|adj=on|1}} alluvial fan formed by sediment deposited by Mara Creek and Hummingbird Creek.{{cite report | url=https://pub-csrd.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=26441 |pages=41–42 (38–39) |title=Electoral Area E Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 840 |date=Nov 2021 |website=pub-csrd.escribemeetings.com}}

{{Historical populations

| title = Census population:
Swansea Point

| type = Canada

| align = right

| width =

| state =

| shading =

| percentages =

|1986|207

|1991|205

|1996|

|2001|

|2006|243

|2011|193

|2016|161

|2021|235

| footnote =

| source = Statistics Canada
{{Cite web | url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2013/statcan/rh-hc/CS92-105-1888.pdf |page=332 (317)| title=1986 Census |website=publications.gc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://ia600205.us.archive.org/19/items/1991933061993engfra/1991933061993engfra.pdf |page=192 (184)| title=1991 Census |website=publications.gc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=DPL&Code1=590215&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=swansea%20point&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1 |title=2011 Census |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=DPL&Code1=590215&Geo2=PR&Code2=59&SearchText=swansea%20point&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1&type=0 | title=2016 Census |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&SearchText=swansea%20point&DGUIDlist=2021A0006590215&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&HEADERlist=0 | title=2021 Census |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}

}}

Arriving in the early 1900s, Mr. Worthington was the first settler. He homesteaded on {{convert|70|acre|order=flip}} adjacent to the north of the later Hummingbird Resort. On the third resale, the Young family bought the Worthington property in 1934 and established the first resort. They erected four small log cabins, which they called the Black Point Resort. In 1936, Swansea Resort Ltd, owned by the Swanson family, bought the property. The next summer, Swansea Resort opened.{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=56}}

When the relief camp disbanded, the Stephens family bought the Hummingbird site and started a tourist camp. In the late 1930s, the Swansons bought the {{convert|40|acre|order=flip}} adjacent to the east of their resort to provide highway access. The family opened a general store, gas station, and tea room on Swanson Rd, which was formerly the highway. Both the Hummingbird and Swansea resorts were popular prior to World War II and were revived after the war. In the 1950s, the gas station site became the Mara Lake Resort. Over time, the remainder of the property was subdivided.{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=57}}

Around 1980, Swansea Point{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0371059#p17z-3r0f:%22Point%22 |page=18 (12) |title=Ministry of Municipal Affairs annual report, 1980 |website=library.ubc.ca}} began to replace the former name of Six Mile.{{cite report | url=https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/reports-and-reference/reports-and-studies/highway-97-cariboo-north/highway_97a_hummingbird_creek_channel_repairs.pdf#page=4 |author=Golder Associates |page=4 (1) |title=23466 Highway 97A Hummingbird Creek Channel Repairs |date=23 Aug 2013 |website=www2.gov.bc.ca}}

In 1997 and 2012 heavy rains caused large debris flows at Hummingbird Creek, which significantly impacted lives, houses, septic systems, and highway infrastructure. Remedial action, which began in 2013, has minimized this risk. Since the early aughts, a new resort has been constructed along Hummingbird Creek, comprising recreational cabins and townhouses.

As at 2021, Swansea Point had about 400 dwellings, only 30 per cent of which were permanently occupied.

King-Baker Creek is by road about {{convert|3|km|mi|0}} south of Swansea Point.{{BCGNIS|28388| King-Baker Creek (creek)}} The creek is likely named after Sidney and Violet King-Baker, who purchased land in 1929 and built two vacation cabins, one for personal use and the other for visitors. Violet bequeathed the property to Ethna Revel, who suffered a stroke in 1990 at the cabin, dying three weeks later.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132225#p133z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Reimche |first=Judy |title=Okanagan Historical Society: Ethna Revel |date=1991 |page=134 (132) |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In the immediate vicinity were the Cedar View Cabins dating at least from the late 1940s.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22boating%22&ymd=1948-10-16&t=8803 |page=19 |title=Calgary Herald |date=16 Oct 1948 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}} By the early 1960s, the lakeshore property included a large motel unit, eight cottages, a campground, and store.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22launching+ramp%22&ymd=1962-01-20&t=8803 |page=40 |title=Calgary Herald |date=20 Jan 1962 |quote=…Mara Lake, 8 miles south of Sicamous. Two bedroom home, large motel unit, 8 cottages, camp-site, twelve boats, launching ramp, store, etc….Cedar View Cabins | website=www.newspapers.com}} By the early 1980s, the site was called the Kingbaker Creek Resort.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22Kingbaker%22&ymd=1981-07-08&t=5902 |page=5 |title=Eagle Valley News |date=8 Jul 1981 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}} By the mid-aughts, 25 campsites and five cabins existed.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22campsites%22&ymd=2007-05-10&t=5902 |page=Y11 |title=Eagle Valley News |date=10 May 2007 |quote=Kingbaker Creek Resort also boasts 25 campsites and five cabins | website=www.newspapers.com}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.eaglevalleynews.com/life/camping-in-sicamous |title=Eagle Valley News |date=1 Jun 2011 |website=www.eaglevalleynews.com}}

In 2015, a mudslide damaged and moved a house off its foundation, pushed several vehicles from the property onto the highway, and closed the highway for several hours.{{Cite web | url=https://www.saobserver.net/news/update-mudslide-damages-mara-residence-closes-highway-97a |title=Salmon Arm Observer |date=16 Feb 2015 |website=www.saobserver.net}}

In 2022, Pinnacle Lifestyles acquired the resort and renamed it the Mara Lake RV & Beach Club.{{Cite web | url=https://www.saobserver.net/business/former-sicamous-koa-reopening-in-may-as-a-pinnacle-lifestyles-resort |title=Salmon Arm Observer |date=20 Apr 2022 |website=www.saobserver.net}}

Resorts developed in the 1960s were the Mara Sands (formerly called the Silver Birch),{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=325}} the Willow Shores,{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22Arm+Area.+having+moved%22&ymd=1999-01-06&t=5961 |page=14 |title=Salmon Arm Observer |date=6 Jan 1999 |quote=…Darrell…moved to Mara Lake in 1968 to operate Willow Shores Resort… | website=www.newspapers.com}} and the Crystal Sands.{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=325}}

The Cherokee Resort existed by the early 1970s.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22Mara%22&ymd=1972-04-15&t=8805 |page=42 |title=Edmonton Journal |date=15 Apr 1972 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}} In 1991, this venue was renamed the Club Mara Resort.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22help+for+various%22&ymd=1991-04-24&t=5902 |page=14 |title=Eagle Valley News |date=24 Apr 1991 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}}{{Cite web | url=https://www.sharphooks.com/search.aspx?subpage=hotelinfo&hotel=cherokee+resort+limited%0D%0A(club+mara+resort)&hotelid=4167 |title=Cherokee Resort Limited (Club Mara Resort) |website=www.sharphooks.com}}

Mara Provincial Park is in the vicinity.

In Mara proper are the community church (built 1912) and the community hall (built 1911).{{Cite web | url=https://www.travel-british-columbia.com/blog/memories-of-mara-british-columbia |title=Memories of Mara, British Columbia |website=www.travel-british-columbia.com}} To the southeast, along the highway is the cemetery beside the Foodliner store/gas bar.{{Cite web | url=https://www.vdfhs.com/cemeteries/north_okanagan/mara/mara_cemetery.html |title=Mara Cemetery |website=www.vdfhs.com}}

File:Across Mara Lake to Hyde Mountain Golf Course (6197076926).jpg

Opened in 2002,{{Cite web | url=https://www.golflink.com/golf-courses/bc/sicamous/hyde-mountain-golf-course |title=MaraHills Golf Resort |website=www.golflink.com}} the 18-hole championship Hyde Mountain on Mara Lake Golf Course was designed by Les Furber. The rename to MaraHills Golf Resort{{Cite web | url=https://www.bcgolfguide.com/golf-courses/mara-hills-resort-hyde-mountain-golf-course-on-mara-lake |title=MaraHills Golf Resort (formerly Hyde Mountain on Mara Lake Golf Course) |website=www.bcgolfguide.com}} occurred in 2021, when PintoWest Properties paid $5.3 million for the {{convert|264|acre|adj=on|order=flip}} property, which comprised the golf course, marina, restaurant and bar, pro shop and helicopter pad.{{Cite web | url=https://www.summerlandreview.com/news/shuswap-golf-course-sells-to-kelowna-based-company |title=Summerland Review |date=16 Jul 2021 |website=www.summerlandreview.com}}

In June 2022, PintoWest reversed its decision to be included in a planned boundary expansion by the District of Sicamous.{{Cite web | url=https://www.saobserver.net/news/mara-hills-owners-back-out-of-sicamous-boundary-expansion-study |title=Salmon Arm Observer |date=13 Jun 2022 |website=www.saobserver.net}} Also that month, GolfNorth Properties entered into a long-term lease of the resort.{{Cite web | url=https://golfnorth.ca/2022-06-marahills |title=GolfNorth to take over Operations at MaraHills Golf Resort |date=Jun 2022 |website=golfnorth.ca}} That August, during the first phase of the property development, all 100 available lots sold for a total of $13 million. The potential development is up to 1,000 units.{{Cite web | url=https://www.castanet.net/news/Salmon-Arm/380493/First-phase-of-MaraHills-Resort-auction-sells-fast-raises-millions |title=Castanet |date=16 Aug 2022 |website=www.castanet.net}}

Rolf Wallgren Bruhn had a pole yard, giving rise to the name Pole Yard Point.{{Cite web | url=https://www.sicamousmuseum.ca/history |title=A Brief History of Sicamous and the Eagle Valley |website=www.sicamousmuseum.ca}} The site later became the Carney pole yard.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1961&f_month=7&f_day=3 |page=A2 |title=Kamloops Daily Sentinel |date=3 Jul 1961 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

The Shandy Cove Resort opened in 1968.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22providing+moorage%22&ymd=1979-08-29&t=5902 |page=20 |title=Eagle Valley News |date=29 Aug 1979 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}}

The area includes Shandy Cove, about 35 properties along Mara West Road, and the Mara Point site of the Shuswap Lake Marine Provincial Park.

File:Mara Lake Internment Roadwork.jpg

In 1887, a narrow and swampy in places wagon road was built to supersede the trail southward along the western side of Mara Lake, which connected Sicamous and Enderby.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|pp=162–163, 373}}{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Sicamous&f_pub=-1&f_year=1887&f_month=12&f_day=31 |page=A3 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=31 Dec 1887 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} Schubert Bros. established a stage service on the route,{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=65}} but the railway construction severely damaged the road.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132239#p45z-5r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Marriage |first=R.E. |title=Okanagan Historical Society: When the Post Office Rode the Rails |date=1996 |page=46 (44) |website=library.ubc.ca}}

Prior to World War I, a trail existed southward to Two Mile, which was followed by a gap to the present Mara Provincial Park.{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=56}}

After the war, a {{convert|2.5|mi|km|adj=on|0|order=flip}} gap to Sicamous remained for several years.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xkelownarec/1.0180941#p2z-3r0f:%22Sicamous%22 |page=3 |title=Kelowna Record |date=29 Apr 1920 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

At yearend 1921, the wagon road along the east shore was completed.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1922&f_month=1&f_day=3 |page=A7 |title=Kamloops Standard-Sentinel |date=3 Jan 1922 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1972, flash floods submerged or washed away sections of the highway.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1972&f_month=6&f_day=13 |page=A1 |title=Kamloops Daily Sentinel |date=13 Jun 1972 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

File:Mara Lake Internment Six Mile Camp.jpg

The wagon road along the western side of Mara Lake having been destroyed, interned aliens built sections of a new road along the eastern side during World War I.{{sfn|Abercrombie|1985|p=165}} The camps, which operated June 1915–July 1917,{{cite thesis | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/831/1.0101346/1 |last=Raynolds |first=Tracy |page=121 (109) |title=A Case Study in Attitudes Towards Enemy Aliens in BC 1914–1919 |year=1973 |type=MA |website=library.ubc.ca}} spent winter at Two Mile and summer at Six Mile. Rolf Wallgren Bruhn was the road superintendent. The shore road along the southern part of the lake was blasted through rocky cliffs, with rock removal and grading by hand.{{sfn|Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee|2010|p=56}} A commemorative marker exists about {{convert|40|m|ft|0}} south of the Wolfe Rd junction. The Hummingbird Beach Resort at Swansea Point now occupies the former camp site.{{Cite web | url=https://onthisspot.ca/cities/maralake/maralake |title=Twin Highway Camps: Forced Labour at Mara Lake |website=onthisspot.ca}}

In 1898, a derailed train proceeded some distance.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xkootmail/1.0181240#p0z-1r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Kootenay Mail |date=10 Dec 1898 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1907, a snowplow derailed, delaying a passenger train.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/epnoh/1.0353218#p0z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=The Enderby Progress and Northern Okanagan Herald |date=8 Feb 1907 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1913, additional sidings and a new station building on the east side of the tracks were installed at Mara.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xledgreen/1.0181537#p0z-2r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Ledge |date=22 May 1913 |website=library.ubc.ca}}{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xledgreen/1.0181365#p0z-1r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Ledge |date=10 Jul 1913 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1921, the southbound mail car caught fire when mailbags were stacked too close to the stove. On discovery of the fire, some mail was rescued at Mara, but the car was destroyed.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0179316#p0z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=1 |title=Okanagan Commoner |date=10 Nov 1921 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In the early 1930s, B.J. Carney loaded poles at the Mara siding.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132233#p16z-4r0f:%22Mara%22 |last=Cowan |first=Joan N. |title=Okanagan Historical Society: B.J. Carney & Co. |date=1995 |page=17 (11) |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1932, a northbound passenger train fatally struck a man on the track {{convert|2|mi|km|0|order=flip}} north of Mara.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1932&f_month=8&f_day=8 |page=A1 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=8 Aug 1932 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}}

In 1940, a southbound train fatally struck a man in the vicinity of Black Point.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/nelsondaily/1.0407416#p0z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=8 |title=Daily News |date=2 Apr 1940 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

The Mara train station{{Cite web | url=https://bcrdh.ca/islandora/object/enderby%3A2006?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=0b66b9242aaa54e76e9d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=30&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=14 |title=Mara railway station |website=bcrdh.ca}} comprised two rooms. The building was later vandalized and burned down.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132228#p26z-4r0f:%22station%22 |last=Bearcroft |first=Norma |title=Okanagan Historical Society: C.P.R. Memories |date=1995 |page=27 (25) |website=library.ubc.ca}} However, another CP building has been moved back from the right-of-way to become the Mara Station Bed & Breakfast. To the southwest of the MaraHills Golf Resort was the Fossett passing track, named after CP roadmaster Charles Fossett.{{Cite web | url=http://railwaysoftheokanagan.blogspot.com/p/cp-okanahan-subdivision-mileposts.html |title=CP Okanagan Subdivision Mileposts |website=blogspot.com}}

In 1964, the passing track car capacity was 15 at Fossett and 60 at Mara.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/chungtext/1.0362212#p6z-5r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=7 (TT91) |title=Timetable |date=26 Apr 1964 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

{{Further|Sicamous#Branch}}

To connect the roadbuilding endeavours with the railway line on the opposite side of the lake, a ferry operated during World War I.{{Cite web | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/xenderby/1.0179027#p0z-4r0f:%22ferry%22 |page=1 |title=Enderby Press and Walker's Weekly |date=30 Mar 1916 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In August 1895, a cable ferry was installed,{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0063737#p69z-3r0f:%22ferry%22 |page=70 (422) |title=Commissioner of Land and Works annual report, 1895 |website=library.ubc.ca}} enabling east shore settlers to access the train station across the river.{{cite journal | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/ohs/1.0132200#p51z-4r0f:%22connect%22 |last=Worth |first=Grace |title=Okanagan Historical Society: Memories of Kathleen Gray |date=1958 |pages=52–53 (48–49) |website=library.ubc.ca}} In May 1897, new cable towers were erected.{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0063996#p76z-3r0f:%22ferry%22 |page=77 (377) |title=Commissioner of Land and Works, 1897 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

A {{convert|655|ft|m|adj=on|0|order=flip}} 18-span bridge opened in January 1899.{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1899&f_month=1&f_day=24 |page=A1 |title=Inland Sentinel |date=24 Jan 1899 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} The replacement, which opened in 1913,{{Cite web | url=https://arch.tnrl.ca/pages/search/index.html?browse=false&s=Mara&f_pub=-1&f_year=1913&f_month=11&f_day=25 |page=A9 |title=Kamloops Standard |date=25 Nov 1913 |website=arch.tnrl.ca}} comprised two {{convert|125|ft|m|adj=on|0|order=flip}} Howe trusses, a {{convert|136|ft|m|adj=on|0|order=flip}} pony Howe truss swing span, and {{convert|268|ft|m|0|order=flip}} of approaches.{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0059778#p50z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=Q51 |title=Minister of Public Works annual report, 1913–14 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1928, a {{convert|130|ft|m|adj=on|0|order=flip}} Howe truss and 27-bay trestle bridge opened.{{Cite report | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/viewer/bcsessional/1.0300612#p35z-3r0f:%22Mara%22 |page=36 (S20) |title=Minister of Public Works annual report, 1928–29 |website=library.ubc.ca}}

In 1982, the Mara bridge was replaced.{{Cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#lnd=1&query=%22mara+bridge%22&ymd=1982-10-20&t=5902 |page=12 |title=Eagle Valley News |date=20 Oct 1982 |quote= | website=www.newspapers.com}}

• Map of pre-emptions.
• {{Cite web | url=http://cartweb.geography.ua.edu/lizardtech/iserv/calcrgn?cat=North%20America%20and%20United%20States&item=Canada/Canada1898f.sid&wid=500&hei=400&props=item(Name,Description),cat(Name,Description)&style=simple/view-dhtml.xsl |title=Shuswap sheet map |year=1898 |website=geography.ua.edu}}
• {{Cite web | url=https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~2162~200068:Rand-McNally-Official-1925-Auto-Tra?title=Search+Results%3A+List_No+equal+to+%275215.002%27&thumbnailViewUrlKey=link.view.search.url&fullTextSearchChecked=&dateRangeSearchChecked=&showShareIIIFLink=true&helpUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fdoc.lunaimaging.com%2Fdisplay%2FV75D%2FLUNA%2BViewer%23LUNAViewer-LUNAViewer&showTip=false&showTipAdvancedSearch=false&advancedSearchUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fdoc.lunaimaging.com%2Fdisplay%2FV75D%2FSearching%23Searching-Searching |title=Rand McNally BC map |year=1925 |website=www.davidrumsey.com}}
• {{Cite web | url=https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~325740~90094661:1937-road-map-of-British-Columbia |title=Standard Oil BC map |year=1937 |website=www.davidrumsey.com}}

• List of lakes of British Columbia
• Tributaries of the Fraser

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Abercrombie |first=Annie Dorothy |title=Sicamous, Mara to Three Valley |publisher=Self-published |year=1985 |isbn=}}
• {{cite book |author=Sicamous-Eagle Valley Centennial Book Committee |title=Eagle Valley views : the one hundred year pictorial history of Sicamous and the Eagle Valley. |publisher=Sicamous and District Museum & Historical Society |year=2010 |edition=revised |isbn=}}

{{British Columbia hydrography}}

{{Okanagan communities}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Lakes of British Columbia

Category:Shuswap Country

Category:Lakes of the Okanagan

Category:Kamloops Division Yale Land District