Pavilion is an unincorporated community on the eastern side of the Fraser River in the South Cariboo region of southwestern British Columbia.

The early anglicized version of the village name was Skwailuk, meaning hoar-frost,[1] perhaps indicating the shaded ground remaining frozen during the long winters at this elevation.

[citation needed] In 1859, Lieutenant Mayne of the Royal Engineers observed the indigenous people possessed a basic fluency in French from earlier contact with the fur traders.

One explanation for its significance is that the large banner of white cloth informed passing travellers of the presence of a "friendly Indian" camp in the context of the then-recent Fraser Canyon War farther south along the Fraser, and perhaps was also a mark of wealth, cloth being an expensive trading item.

[6] In 1859, Pavilion comprised around 20 miners' huts, which provided a base to reorganize prior to proceeding to various mining prospects.

[7] In 1881, Billy Kane bought the George Baillie property at 20 Mile, developing it into the "Box K" ranch.

[14] In 1899, a partnership between John Bates Bryson and J.C. Smith purchased the Grange ranch, of which Byson became the sole owner two years later.

[22] The size of the subsidies over the next two decades covered the payroll for the ferry operator, suggesting the use of only a rowboat, a fact not specified until 1917.

[26] In 1949, a two-passenger aerial cable ferry attached to concrete anchors was installed to augment the rowboat.

During the Pacific Great Eastern Railway (PGE) construction, a hospital was based at Pavilion.