Churchill

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Churchill1 River, c.600 mi (970 km) long, issuing as the Ashuanipi River from Ashuanipi Lake, SW Labrador, N.L., Canada, and flowing in an arc north, then southeast through a series of lakes to Churchill Falls and McLean Canyon. It then runs NE past Goose Bay and through Melville Lake and Hamilton Inlet to the Atlantic Ocean near Rigolet. The river has probably the greatest hydroelectric power potential of any river in North America, and Churchill Falls is the site of one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plants. Formerly known as the Hamilton River, it was renamed (1965) in honor of Sir Winston Churchill. 2 River, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long, issuing from Methy Lake, NW Sask., Canada, and flowing southeast, east, and northeast across the lowlands of N Saskatchewan and N Manitoba to Hudson Bay at Churchill. It meets the Beaver River, its chief tributary, at Lac Île-à-la-Crosse. Once a fur-trade route, it was explored (1619) by Jens Munck, a Scandinavian sent by Christian IV, king of Denmark and Norway, to search for the Northwest Passage. In 1717 the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post, later the British stronghold Fort Prince of Wales. Captured (1782) by the French under Jean La Pérouse, the fort was regained by the British and renamed Fort Churchill; its ruins are preserved in Fort Prince of Wales National Historic Park. Exploration of the upper reaches of the river was carried on by the Frobishers, Peter Pond, and Alexander Henry, all of the North West Company. A hydroelectric station on the upper river supplies power for Manitoba mining operations. The port of Churchill (1991 pop. 1,143), at the river's mouth, is the northern terminus of the Hudson Bay Railway; in the summer navigation season, it ships grain from the Prairie Provinces. It also draws visitors as the "polar bear capital of the world" ; nearby Wapusk National Park is one of the world's largest polar bear maternity denning sites.

Bibliography: See J. Knight's journal, The Founding of Churchill, ed. by J. F. Kenney (1932); S. F. Olson, The Lonely Land (1961).

Churchill, Canada, USA 1. Canada (Manitoba): a port named after John Churchill (1650–1722), 1st Duke of Marlborough, who was a governor of the Hudson's Bay Company between 1685 and 1691 and later a highly successful general against the French. It was developed from Fort Churchill, originally built in 1688.2. Canada (Saskatchewan): previously the Missinipi ‘Big River’ and then the English River, so‐called because it served as a route into the interior for the English traders of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was subsequently renamed after Fort Churchill, itself after the 1st Duke of Marlborough.3. Canada (Newfoundland and Labrador): a river in Labrador, previously the Hamilton River, named in 1821 after Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton (1767–1849), the first governor and commander‐in‐chief of Newfoundland (1818–24). In 1965 it was renamed after Sir Winston Churchill (1874–1965), British prime minister (1940–5, 1951–5), after his death that year.4. There are also mountains, lakes, and falls in Canada and the USA, all named after a British Churchill.

Churchill, sometimes from Celtic *crǖg ‘hill’ with explanatory OE hyll ‘hill’; examples include: Churchill Devon, near Barnstaple. Cercelle 1086 (DB). Churchill Worcs., near Kidderminster. Cercehalle [sic] 1086 (DB), Circhul 11th cent.

However other examples are probably simply ‘hill with or near a church’, OE cirice + hyll: Churchill Oxon. Cercelle 1086 (DB). Churchill N. Som. Cherchille 1201. Churchill Worcs., near Worcester. Circehille 1086 (DB).

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