Provincial Park (Establishment)
Steelhead Cemetery
near Savona, British Columbia

Steelhead Cemetery
Photo: Ministry of Environment, BC Parks, 2010
- Recognized
- 1995
- By
- Province of British Columbia
The register’s text, word for word
Description
The Steelhead Cemetery consists of a small plot of land in Steelhead Provincial Park near Savona, British Columbia. The cemetery is located on the bluff overlooking the park and Kamloops Lake. The historic place consists of the cemetery containing one memorial and the remains of an earlier decorative wood fence nearby.
Heritage value
The Steelhead Cemetery has spiritual, historical, aesthetic and recreational values.
The Steelhead Cemetery is important for its relationship with the spiritual values held by the early pioneers in the area. Of unknown denomination, the cemetery is located high on a bluff overlooking the former Francois Saveneux property and Kamloops Lake. It is a testament to the early settlers of the area, their adventurous lives and hard work.
The cemetery has historical value through the presence of the burials of two well-known Savona residents: ferryman Francois Saveneux and brewer and Mason Giovanni Velatti.
Aesthetic value is found in views of the cemetery with its white picket fence; the remains of an earlier, more decorative fence lie on the ground nearby.
The cemetery has educational and interpretive value through its preservation within both of the earlier privately-owned and provincial campsites, and through proposed plans for an extensive interpretive program on the site. It also has recreational value for its support to the overall visitor experience at Steelhead Provincial Park.
SourceMinistry of Environment, BC Parks
Character‑defining elements
Key character-defining elements of Steelhead Cemetery include:
Site:
-location of the cemetery on the high bluff overlooking Steelhead Provincial Park
-single tombstone of Giovanni Velatti with Masonic emblem
-unmarked grave of Francois Saveneux
-grassland vegetation
-fence surrounding cemetery site
-nearby remains of earlier fence
End of the register’s text
Location
near Savona, British Columbia, Canada
50.75557° N, 120.86626° W
Get directions (opens in a new tab)Being on the register doesn’t make a place open to visitors. Many are private homes or businesses; please view them from the street.
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Nearby
Similar places
Places whose register descriptions are closest to this one.
- Cascade CemeteryNone, British Columbia
Lakeview CemeteryPenticton, British Columbia
Granite Creek Town Site and CemeteryRegional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, British Columbia- Burton Historical CemeteryBurton, British Columbia
Maple Ridge CemeteryMaple Ridge, British Columbia
Kitsumgallum Pioneer CemeteryTerrace, British Columbia
From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.