Savona (/səˈvoʊnə/ sə-VOH-nə) is an unincorporated community in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia.

The place is on the western end and south shore of Kamloops Lake, adjacent to the outlet into the Thompson River.

For thousands of years, First Nations used trails and waterways to travel between hunting, fishing and trading areas.

Consequently, Boute du Lac[3] (meaning foot of the lake) Indians was the name initially assigned to this indigenous group.

[4] Since the Hudson's Bay Brigade Trail crossed the Thompson at Kamloops, these people would have experienced limited exposure to the French-speaking fur trade era.

[5] During the 1860s, the Savona Ferry Indians became the new name and the people gravitated to the Deadman Valley to build a small church and few houses.

[6] Having previously wintered in the valley and at the lake outlet, the establishment of the reserve in the late 1860s, revised the name to the Deadman Creek Band.

[8] About 1858, during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, François Saveneux established a ferry across the fast current of the Thompson.

[30] In 1993, Cortez Construction[31] adopted the "Highline" method to install the girders for the river bridge replacement.

[32] The Big Bend Gold Rush of 1865 prompted the construction of the wagon road from Cache Creek to Savona.

[38] In 1872, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) built the small steamer SS Kamloops to carry supplies for surveyors from Savona.

Mara and Wilson, Kamloops merchants, bought the Marten from the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1875.

[54] In fall 1883, James A. Newland and Adam B. Ferguson opened a hotel called Lakeview House,[55] which thrived during the CP construction period.

In 1886, Barnard's Express relocated headquarters to Ashcroft,[57] James Uren died in England,[39] Ferguson bought out his hotel partner, and many of the residences lay abandoned.

[58] Ferguson closed the hotel in 1891, and one account claims the building was hauled across the frozen lake, possibly to be used as a family residence.

[58] In 1891, Ferguson acquired the Finlay hotel,[56] which he renamed Lakeview House,[59] and John Jane opened his large new store.

[82] That summer, Dey's new store and café opened on the new bypass, replacing the building destroyed by fire months earlier.

[61][91] In December 1884, the eastward advance of the CP rail head from Port Moody halted[92] about one mile east.

The replacement in the late 1890s was the standard-design Plan H-I-20-6 (Bohi's Type 1) split level station building, which was destroyed in 1969[98] or 1972.

[103] In 1910, a brakeman, who was jolted from the top of a car,[104] when the emergency brakes inexplicably engaged, received severe lacerations to the head and was knocked unconscious.

[109] In 1913, a passenger alighting from a moving train slipped on the icy platform and fell under the cars, where he sustained fatal injuries.

Not realizing that the passing flotsam included colour TV sets, some men fishing downstream mistakenly assumed it was all garbage.

[142] In April 1914, about 150 members of the IWW marched to confront construction strike-breakers on the north shore at Savona, where a large contingent of armed provincial police and special constables was stationed.

[177] That year, Evans Products acquired the business, which comprised a sawmill, plywood plant, planer mill and chipping facilities.

[192] During 1957, Westcoast Transmission installed a 183-metre (600 ft) natural gas pipeline across the Thompson, immediately southwest of the current highway bridge.

[194] As one of the compressor stations in western Canada with a waste heat recovery system, Savona has a 5 MW zero-emission facility operated by Enbridge.

[196] Seasonal or permanent residences have replaced the old lakeshore motels, campgrounds and auto courts that dotted the waterfront.

[215] In 2012, controversy surrounded the dismissal of the entire team of volunteer medical emergency responders by the fire chief.

[216] In 2013, sewage again overflowed at a trailer park, which highlighted neighbourhood concerns regarding noisy summer parties[217] and a rezoning which permitted 12 RV units.

[219] Savona infrastructure includes a post office,[220] library, volunteer fire department, Anglican church,[221] grocery store, two gas stations, and the Lakeside Country Inn.