Rosebery | |
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Location of Rosebery in British Columbia | |
Coordinates: 50°02′00″N117°24′40″W / 50.03333°N 117.41111°W Coordinates: 50°02′00″N117°24′40″W / 50.03333°N 117.41111°W | |
Country | Canada |
Province | British Columbia |
Region | Slocan Valley, West Kootenay |
Regional district | Central Kootenay |
Area codes | 250, 778, 236, & 672 |
Highways | Hwy 6 |
Rosebery is an unincorporated community about 6 kilometres (4 mi) north of New Denver in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry terminal is at the mouth of Wilson Creek on the eastern shore of Slocan Lake. [1] [2] The locality, on BC Highway 6, is about 106 kilometres (66 mi) by road north of Castlegar and 144 kilometres (89 mi) by road and ferry south of Revelstoke.
Wilson Creek, the former name, came from the creek flowing through the hamlet. The naming honoured either John Wilson, a resident until about 1902, [3] or Arthur M. Wilson, the Slocan's first justice of the peace, who staked land at the creek in 1891, and left in the late 1890s. [4] The Slocan Trading and Navigation Co. (ST&N) steamboat Wm. Hunter, launched at New Denver in November 1892, would have served the location on its regular trips from New Denver to the head and foot of the lake. [5] With the coming railway, a townsite was surveyed and renamed Rosebery, in honour of the prime minister of Great Britain, Lord Rosebery. He may have been a Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) director. From the beginning, the place name was often misspelled Roseberry. [3]
The southeastward advance of the Nakusp & Slocan Railway (N&S) rail head from Nakusp reached Rosebery in August 1894, [6] and the terminus at Three Forks that November. [7] CP, the N&S owner, built a medium sized station, section house, freight shed, sidings, and wharf at Rosebery, [8] which was the transfer terminal for travel to other points on the lake. The ST&N, which had primarily served New Denver to Silverton and Bonanza City, [9] substituted Rosebery/Wilson Creek for the latter from the beginning of 1895. [10] The transshipment of ore, even from the foot of the lake, was initially northward via Rosebery to the CP main line. [11]
The Columbia and Kootenay Steam Navigation Company (C&KSN) acquired ST&N, and CP bought C&KSN in February 1897, which included the small Rosebery shipyard. [12] During the earlier years, ongoing improvements were made to the Rosebery wharf infrastructure, [13] ultimately allowing a seamless rolling of freight cars onto/off a rail barge. [14] From 1897, the Rosebery–Slocan City ferry linked to the CP Columbia and Kootenay Railway (C&K). In 1898, CP installed a turntable at Rosebery. [15]
CP acquired the abandoned Kaslo and Slocan Railway, rebuilt the infrastructure to standard gauge, and opened the link to Kaslo in 1913.
1897: A brakeman, who fell between cars, sustained a crushed leg. [16]
1898: Two loaded freight cars plunged into the lake during unloading from a barge. [17]
1899: On departing, a deckhand fell from the barge and drowned in the frigid waters. [18]
In 1897, an English syndicate bought the townsite. [19] The population of 85 included 21 children. [20] However, being a strategic rail/ferry transport link alone was insufficient to elevate Rosebery to the likes of district communities thriving during the mining boom. The opening and closure of the post office, [3] and periods of losing a hotel [21] and store, [22] reflected the uncertainty. Announcements of projects to build a concentrator came to naught. [23] When one was finally built, it operated less than a year, [24] [25] with limited temporary use years later. [26]
Nowadays, Rosebery is a largely agricultural, recreation-retirement and resource community.
The station was 6.4 kilometres (4.0 mi) southwest of Denver Canyon, and 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) southeast of Hills. [27] A wye replaced the turntable. [28] The final passenger train northeast of Roseberry ran in 1933. Damage from the 1955 floods on Carpenter Creek ended all traffic east of Denver Canyon. [29] The final passenger service on the remainder of the line and by ferry across the lake ended in 1954. The final freight run on these sections was either December 1988 or March 1989. [28] However, by the 1960s, the latter service had reduced to twice weekly, [30] and once weekly by 1980. [31]
Train Timetables (Regular stop or Flag stop) | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 1898 | 1907 | 1918 | 1929 | 1932 | 1935 | 1939 | 1943 | 1948 | 1953 | 1954 |
Ref. | [32] | [33] | [34] | [35] | [36] | [27] | [37] | [38] | [39] | [40] | [41] |
Type | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | None |
Rosebery was one of the smaller West Kootenay internment camps housing Japanese Canadians removed from the BC coast during World War II. Holding 357 individuals, the centre had the smallest number of children attending school, about 100. [42]
The Village of Nakusp is beside the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its nearby hot springs and picturesque mountain lakeside setting.
The Columbia and Kootenay Railway (C&KR) was a historic railway operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. This 25-mile (40 km) route, beside the unnavigable Kootenay River, linked Nelson on the west arm of Kootenay Lake with Robson at the confluence of the Kootenay River and the Columbia River near Castlegar.
The Kaslo and Slocan Railway (K&S) is a historic railway that operated in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The K&S connected Kaslo and Sandon. Initially a narrow-gauge railway, the line was later rebuilt to standard gauge.
The Nakusp and Slocan Railway (N&S) is a historic Canadian railway that operated in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The N&S initially connected Nakusp and Three Forks but soon extended to Sandon.
New Denver is at the mouth of Carpenter Creek, on the east shore of Slocan Lake, in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The village is 47 kilometres (29 mi) west of Kaslo on Highway 31A, and 47 kilometres (29 mi) southeast of Nakusp and 32 kilometres (20 mi) northeast of Slocan on Highway 6.
Sandon is in the foothills of the Selkirk Mountains in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The near ghost town lies off BC Highway 31A, and is at the confluence of Sandon Creek into Carpenter Creek. By road, the place is about 14 kilometres (9 mi) east of New Denver and 43 kilometres (27 mi) west of Kaslo.
Trout Lake is a ribbon lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Between the Selkirk Mountains to the west and the Purcell Mountains to the east, the lake is about 23 kilometres (14 mi) long and 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) wide. Lardeau Creek flows into the northern end and Lardeau River flows from the southern end. BC Highway 31 skirts the northeast shore. The northern end is about 90 kilometres (56 mi) by road and ferry southeast of Revelstoke.
Silverton is a village about 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of New Denver in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing is at the mouth of Silverton Creek on the eastern shore of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 at the junction of BC Highway 31A, is about 95 kilometres (59 mi) by road north of Castlegar and 155 kilometres (96 mi) by road and ferry south of Revelstoke.
The Village of Slocan is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry terminal is at the mouth of Springer Creek, at the foot of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 is about 69 kilometres (43 mi) by road north of Castlegar and 183 kilometres (114 mi) by road and ferry south of Revelstoke.
Winlaw is an unincorporated community adjacent to Winlaw Creek on the east side of the Slocan River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The locality is on BC Highway 6 about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Slocan, and 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Castlegar.
Robson is an unincorporated community in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and railway terminal is on the northeast side of the Columbia River. The residential area is off Broadwater Road, within the northwest part of Greater Castlegar.
Slocan Lake is a lake in the Slocan Valley of the West Kootenay region of the Southeastern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. it is drained by the Slocan River, which flows south from the lake's foot at Slocan City through the Slocan Valley to South Slocan, British Columbia, where that river meets the Kootenay River a few miles above its confluence with the Columbia. It is fed by Bonanza Creek, which comes down the pass from Summit Lake, beyond which is the town of Nakusp on Upper Arrow Lake.
Cody is at the confluence of Cody Creek into Carpenter Creek in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The ghost town, about one kilometre east of Sandon, lies off BC Highway 31A. By road, the former mining community is about 15 kilometres (9 mi) east of New Denver and 44 kilometres (27 mi) west of Kaslo.
Vallican is an unincorporated community on the west side of the Slocan River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. At the mouth of the Little Slocan River, the locality formerly spanned both sides of the Slocan River. The rural neighbourhood is off BC Highway 6 about 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Slocan, and 39 kilometres (24 mi) north of Castlegar.
Procter is an unincorporated community in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing is on the south shore at the entrance to the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. By road and ferry, the locality is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of Nelson.
Three Forks is a ghost town at the junction of Carpenter, Seaton, and Kane creeks in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This former mining community, on BC Highway 31A, is by road about 8 kilometres (5 mi) east of New Denver and 38 kilometres (24 mi) west of Kaslo.
Zincton is a ghost town in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This former mining community, on BC Highway 31A, is by road about 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of New Denver and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Kaslo.
Lemon Creek is an unincorporated community on the east side of the Slocan River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The locality is on BC Highway 6 about 8 kilometres (5 mi) south of Slocan, and 62 kilometres (39 mi) north of Castlegar.
South Slocan is an unincorporated community on the northwest shore of the Kootenay River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The village, which comprises 51 households, provides a very small tax base. Over the years the population has fluctuated between 50 and 175 people. A former railway junction on BC Highway 6, it is approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) northeast of Castlegar, and 20 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Nelson. Its postal category is Rural Route One.
SS Kootenay was a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) wooden-hulled sternwheeler that serviced the Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada from 1897 to 1919. She was a large freight and passenger steamship and the first in a series of CPR riverboats built for the Arrow Lakes.
Passenger service between the Slocan and Kootenay Lakes ceased in 1933, and freight service was permanently halted by the floods of 1955.
A weekly barge service on Slocan Lake is the sole remnant of Canadian Pacific's once imposing BC freshwater fleet