Adopted 1 March 1938 on Geological Survey sheet 448A, Hazelton.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named after Simon Peter Gunanoot (1878 - 1933), the Gitksan rancher and hunter man who was chiefly responsible for opening up this part of the country. See also Gunanoot, Mount. See also "Chasing Shadows: the Simon Gunanoot Story" by Monty Bassett, Smithers, 2001; see also article about Simon Gunanoot by Pierre Burton, published in the Ottawa Citizen 24 December 1977.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

"....Gitksan hero (born in 1874 at Kispiox, BC; died in October 1933, at Stewart, BC). Simon Gunanoot gained fame as one of Canada's most successful fugitives. He owned a store at Kispiox, and ran a ranch and a packtrain near Hazelton. That was before he was accused of murder. In June 1906, a miner called Alexander MacIntosh was shot in the back and killed near Hazelton. A stranger, Max Leclair, was also found shot. There was no evidence that Gunanoot had caused either death, but he was charged with murder because he had quarrelled with MacIntosh and threatened him. Gunanoot's brother-in-law, Peter Himadam, was also charged. Both men escaped arrest and took to the hills, and for 13 years they lived as outlaws. They supported themselves as trappers, selling their furs with the help of friends and relatives. For long periods of time, their families lived with them. Prospectors as well as native people occasionally came across the two men. Nobody turned them in, even though a $2000 reward was offered for their capture. At length, in 1919, Gunanoot voluntarily gave himself up, having arranged for a good lawyer to defend him. At his trial, the jury took only 15 minutes to declare him not guilty. Himadam, who surrendered in 1920, was also acquitted." (from Canadian Encyclopedia Online, 2004)

Source: included with note

"Named after Simon Gunanoot, object of the most famous manhunt in the history of B.C. A skillful hunter and a crack shot, Gunanoot eluded the police for thirteen years after he was accused of murdering two half-breeds. He finally gave himself up, stood trial, and was acquitted."

Source: Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; 1001 British Columbia Place Names; Discovery Press, Vancouver 1969, 1970, 1973.