Mara Avenue (27th Street), Mara B.C., Mara Point, Mara Creek, Mara Provincial Park, Mount Mara, Mara Meadows
Few men in B.C.’s early history could match the boundless enthusiasm of John Andrew Mara – sailor, prospector, parliamentarian, entrepreneur, explorer – and a driving force in the development of British Columbia.
A Canadian, Mara was born in Toronto in 1840.
At 22 he joined the Overlanders in Winnipeg and walked across the prairies, through the Yellowhead Pass, to Kamloops.
There he established the first fleet of steamboats in the Thompson/Shuswap area.
Mara worked mightily to have the Crown Colony of British Columbia join Confederation.
When he had the satisfaction of seeing that happen in 1871, he immediately ran for the first Legislature, taking the seat for the Kootenays.
He later represented Yale constituency and was Speaker from 1883 to 1886.
He was then elected federally, where he remained as Yale's M.P. for nearly 10 years.A
close friend and frequent guest of Frank Barnard Jr. in Victoria, Mara married the Barnards' petite, shy daughter, Alice, who was considerably younger than her husband.
Following their honeymoon in California, the couple made their home in Kamloops where they had a reputation for their generous hospitality.
Mara was a member of the Okanagan Land and Development Company which laid out the Vernon townsite adjacent to Centreville in 1891 and brought the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway through Vernon to Okanagan Landing.
They subdivided land on Barnard Avenue into 25 foot lots, priced at $800 to $1,000, and donated other lots to the city for churches, industry, and improvements.
The company built the Kalamalka and Coldstream Hotels.
Through their efforts, the city grew quickly, from 802 in 1901 to 2,671 in 1911.
When he lost his constituency race in 1896, Mara tried retirement but, unsurprisingly, was bored.
In 1898 Klondike gold was discovered and Mara found a new cause at the age of 58. He would build a vessel to carry freight to Alaska and the Yukon.
The sternwheeler Stikine Chief departed from Vancouver in May 1898 but, built for the river trade, she was pulled by atug.
By August she was taking on water, soon broke up, and sank - though Mara and the crew were rescued.
Back in British Columbia, Mara built a handsome residence in Victoria, intending to retire at last.
Sadly, in 1906, Alice Mara died, still a young woman, and Mara plunged back to work with various service organizations.
He died in 1920, age 80.
