The word
Nicomekl is from the
Halq'emeylem used by the
Stó:lō people, meaning "the route to go" or "the pathway." The area from
Mud Bay, British Columbia along the Nicomekl river, and portage area to the
Salmon River and
Derby, British Columbia was once occupied by
Snokomish people, who were largely wiped out by a
smallpox epidemic in the 18th century. Surviving members joined the surrounding
Kwantlen,
Katzie and
Semiahmoo peoples. The river was first documented in writing on December 13, 1824, when
James McMillan's Hudson's Bay Company expedition used the Nicomekl River to travel inland. They went up the Nikomekl to the portage area to the Salmon River which connected to the
Fraser River 50 miles inland. McMillan built the first
Fort Langley at that location two and a half years later. John Work, a clerk with the party, described the Nicomekl as thick with willows and with low banks "well wooded with pine, cedar, alder and some other trees." Work also noted signs of there being numerous beavers on the river. Nicomekl was more navigable than other nearby rivers making it important to Surrey pioneers. In 1911, Surrey council barred navigation up the Nicomekl and Serpentine rivers due to construction of dams to reclaim land. This ended use of the rivers by steamboats and log booms. In December 1951, high tides up the Nicomekl and Serpentine rivers combined with gale-force winds to flood 490 hectares of farmland under 1.5 metres of salt water. Repairs cost about $20,000, and the salt residue affected farm production for a few years. In the 1960s, river pollution caused the closure of thriving oyster farming businesses. ==Tributaries (listed from the mouth up)==