Incorporated as a District Municipality 21 December 1906, to be called The Corporation of the District of Coldstream, and so-labelled on BC map 1EM, 1915. "Coldstream (Municipal District)" adopted in the 18th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 31 March 1924, p.357; Coldstream (District Municipality) confirmed 7 February 1951 on 82L/SW.

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

Colonel Charles Frederick Houghton came to BC with the Vernons in 1863 and pre-empted land along this creek, and land near the head of Okanagan Lake, which he held in partnership with them until 1869, when by partition agreement he took the latter parcel and gave up "the Coldstream Farm". Trutch's 1871 map of British Columbia shows "Houghton's Coldstream". These references indicate that Houghton probably named the stream. W.C. Ricardo was first reeve of the District of Coldstream. (12th Report of the Okanagan Historical Society, 1948.)

Source: included with note

"The land along this creek was originally preempted by Colonel Charles F. Houghton of the 20th Regiment of Foot. (Trutch's 1871 map of British Columbia shows "Houghton's Coldstream") In 1869 [Houghton's property, called Coldstream Farm] passed to the Vernon brothers, and in 1891 Forbes George Vernon sold the estate to Lord Aberdeen, who planted here the first orchard in the Okanagan. G.M. Dawson, a visitor in 1877, reported that on July 8th of that year he found the temperature of the springwater at the head of Coldstream Creek to be 48.5° F."

Source: Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; British Columbia Place Names; Sono Nis Press, Victoria 1986 /or University of British Columbia Press 1997