James Baker | |
---|---|
Assembly Member for Kootenay | |
In office 1886–1890 | |
Assembly Member for East Kootenay | |
In office 1890–1898 | |
Assembly Member for East Kootenay South | |
In office 1898–1900 | |
James Baker (January 6,1830 – July 31,1906) was an English-born soldier and British Columbia political figure. He represented Kootenay from 1886 to 1890,East Kootenay from 1890 to 1898 and East Kootenay South from 1898 to 1900 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.
He was born in London,the son of Samuel Baker,and was educated at the Collegiate School,Gloucester and at Cambridge University. In 1855,Baker married Sarah Louise White. He entered the Indian Navy in 1845,taking part in a survey of the Arabian coast and the suppression of the slave trade. Baker later joined the British Army and fought in the Crimea.
In 1858,he left the army as a very junior subaltern,and was admitted to Magdalene College,Cambridge,being awarded a BA in 1862 and MA in 1865. It was shortly before Baker's arrival in Cambridge that a decision was taken to form the University Rifle Volunteers and in 1860,Baker was appointed first commanding officer with the rank of major,being promoted to lieutenant-colonel later that year,and gazetted full colonel in 1906. [1]
During this time,Baker was much involved with the suggestion of a "military degree",a scheme supported by the Prince Consort,but lost on his untimely death. Baker also devised a new plan for the mobilisation of the volunteer forces,having them concentrate on railway centres,and which was implemented in part. [1]
Like many army officers of the day,Baker acted as a freelance,unpaid,intelligence gatherer,and Baker was author of the book Turkey in Europe as well has several confidential reports to the prime minister,Lord Beaconsfield. He was employed for a time as one of the private secretaries of the Duke of Westminster. [1]
In 1885,he came with his family to British Columbia,settling first at Skookumchuck and later near the present site of Cranbrook. Baker was involved in plans to develop coal deposits in Crowsnest Pass area and later in plans to construct a railway connecting British Columbia and Alberta through the Pass. Eventually,he and his partners came to an agreement with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The choice of a route passing through Cranbrook and bypassing Fort Steele led to the development of Cranbrook as the major centre in the area. Baker served in the provincial cabinet as Provincial Secretary and Minister of Education,Immigration and Mines. In 1900,he retired to England. He died in Inglewood,Parkstone,Dorset at the age of 76. [2]
Baker supported a head tax on the entry of Chinese and Japanese person into the province. [3]
His brother Samuel was a British explorer,and another brother Valentine was a British soldier who served in Turkey. A third brother,John Garland Baker,was the first English tea planter in Ceylon. Overshadowed by his brothers,Baker's achievements are often overlooked.
Baker Street in Nelson and in Cranbrook were named after Colonel Baker. [2]
Major-general Sir Samuel Benfield Steele was a Canadian soldier and policeman. He was an officer of the North-West Mounted Police,head of the Yukon detachment during the Klondike Gold Rush,and commanding officer of Strathcona's Horse during the Boer War.
Cranbrook is a city in southeast British Columbia,Canada,located approximately 10 km southwest of the confluence of the Kootenay River and the St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region known as the East Kootenay. As of 2021,Cranbrook's population is 20,499 with a census agglomeration population of 27,040. It is the location of the headquarters of the Regional District of East Kootenay and also the location of the regional headquarters of various provincial ministries and agencies,notably the Rocky Mountain Forest District.
Highway 95 is a north-south highway in the southeastern corner of British Columbia,opened in 1957. The highway connects with U.S. Route 95,from which the highway takes its number,at the Canada–U.S. border at Kingsgate,just north of Eastport,Idaho. The section between the Canada-U.S. border and the Crowsnest Highway is known as the Yahk–Kingsgate Highway while the section between the Crowsnest Highway and Golden is known as the Kootenay–Columbia Highway.
The Kootenay River or Kootenai River is a major river of the Northwest Plateau in southeastern British Columbia,Canada,and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River,the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Kootenay River runs 781 kilometres (485 mi) from its headwaters in the Kootenay Ranges of the Canadian Rockies,flowing from British Columbia's East Kootenay region into northwestern Montana,then west into the northernmost Idaho Panhandle and returning to British Columbia in the West Kootenay region,where it joins the Columbia at Castlegar.
Cranbrook is a town in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst,in the Weald of Kent in South East England. It lies roughly half-way between Maidstone and Hastings,about 38 miles (61 km) southeast of central London.
The Nelson and Fort Sheppard Railway (N&FS) is a historic railway that operated in the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia. The railway's name derived from a misspelling of Fort Shepherd,a former Hudson's Bay Company fort,on the west bank of the Columbia River immediately north of the border.
James Horace King,was a Canadian physician and parliamentarian.
Canal Flats is a village municipality in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This Columbia Valley community lies between the southern end of Columbia Lake and the northwest shore of the Kootenay River. The locality,on Highway 93/95,is by road about 83 kilometres (52 mi) north of Cranbrook and 165 kilometres (103 mi) southeast of Golden.
The Cranbrook History Centre,formerly the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel,or its brand name "Trains Deluxe",is located in Cranbrook,British Columbia,Canada,a city of about 25,000 on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. The city was developed by the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1898,as the administrative centre for the railway's "Crowsnest Pass" route. This deep connection with the railway was the driving force behind the founding of the original museum and while the city is still a busy railway centre with Canadian and international freight traffic,the area's rich history extends far back before the railway's introduction and the museum has recently expanded the exhibits to reflect this. Cranbrook was incorporated as a city in 1905 when Cranbrook boomed into the major economic,and commercial centre of the Kootenays.
Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This visitor attraction lies on the east shore of the Kootenay River between the mouths of the St. Mary River and Wild Horse River. The locality,on the merged section of highways 93 and 95,is by road about 17 kilometres (11 mi) northeast of Cranbrook and 230 kilometres (143 mi) southeast of Golden.
J.D. Farrell was a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Kootenay River in western Montana and southeastern British Columbia from 1898 to 1902.
Gwendoline was a sternwheel steamer that operated on the Kootenay River in British Columbia and northwestern Montana from 1893 to 1898. The vessel was also operated briefly on the Columbia River in the Columbia Valley.
From 1886 to 1920,steamboats ran on the upper reaches of the Columbia and Kootenay in the Rocky Mountain Trench,in western North America. The circumstances of the rivers in the area,and the construction of transcontinental railways across the trench from east to west made steamboat navigation possible.
The Baillie-Grohman Canal was a shipping canal between the headwaters of the Columbia River and the upper Kootenay River in the East Kootenay region of British Columbia at a place now known as Canal Flats,BC. The construction of the canal was required by the provincial government of British Columbia as a condition of the canal's promoter receiving substantial land concessions from the provincial government of British Columbia in the area of Creston,BC. The promoter,William Adolf Baillie-Grohman (1851–1921),was a wealthy adventurer,hunter author,and business promoter. He declared the canal to be complete in 1889. The canal was an expensive failure,being used only three times during its entire existence. In 1902,on the last use by a vessel,the sternwheeler North Star,the sternwheeler's captain,Frank P. Armstrong deliberately blew out the canal's lower lock gates with dynamite to allow the transit of his vessel.
Wasa is an unincorporated community in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This place,on the east shore of the Kootenay River north of the mouth of Lewis Creek,surrounds Wasa Lake. The locality,on the merged section of highways 93 and 95,is by road about 36 kilometres (22 mi) north of Cranbrook and 211 kilometres (131 mi) southeast of Golden.
Thomas Donald Caven was a Canadian politician and railway employee. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1909 to 1916,representing Cranbrook.
The 1912 Birthday Honours were appointments in the British Empire of King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King,and were published on 11 June 1912.
Wayne L. Stetski is a Canadian politician and former provincial park Regional Manager. He served as the Member of Parliament for Kootenay—Columbia in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. He was elected to that position in the 2015 Canadian federal election as a member of the New Democratic Party. During that parliament he sponsored two private member bills:one to make the Friday before Thanksgiving Day be known as "National Local Food Day" and another to add various lakes and rivers to Navigable Waters Protection Act. Stetski acted as the NDP Critic for National Parks for the duration of the 42nd Canadian Parliament. He was defeated in the 2019 Canadian federal election.
The 1881 Birthday Honours were appointments by Queen Victoria to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the Queen,and were published in The London Gazette on 24 May 1881.