Gold Hill, British Columbia
Gold Hill | |
|---|---|
  Gold Hill Location of Gold Hill in British Columbia | |
| Coordinates: 50°22′59″N 117°05′04″W / 50.38306°N 117.08444°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Region | West Kootenay |
| Regional district | Central Kootenay |
| Area codes | 250, 778, 236, & 672 |
| Highway |  Hwy 31 |
Gold Hill or Goldhill is a ghost town in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former mining community is on the northeast side of the Lardeau River.[1] The locality, on BC Highway 31, is about 32 kilometres (20 mi) northwest of Lardeau (head of Kootenay Lake) and 21 kilometres (13 mi) southeast of Gerrard.
Name origin[edit]
In the 1890s, the trail from Lardeau to Trout Lake joined the Lardeau River at Cascade Creek, just upstream from the future Gold Hill.[2]
Second Crossing was the original name, being the second place the railway crossed the river. In 1903, Edward Mobbs established a town during the goldrush, which he called Uto,[3] but then renamed as Goldhill within days.[4]
Some early newspaper reports did not clearly differentiate between the crossing and Bosworth,[5] which might suggest the commercial enterprises were found somewhere in between.
Ferry and road bridges[edit]
During the railway construction, grading northwestward had reached Duncan City (Howser) by 1899, but clearing extended well beyond. At the second crossing, about 13 kilometres (8 mi) away, a ferry operated across the river.[6]
When the reaction ferry barge was launched for the season in June 1901, the wild current took up the slack in the cable, creating a sudden jerk. The cable drum snapped off and two of the seven railway engineers on board were propelled overboard. Although both were rescued, the barge was destroyed on rocks downstream.[7]
Assumedly, the ferry operated at least until the permanent rail bridge opened in late 1902. A road or footbridge opened at least within a few years.[8]
In 1964–65, the highway bridge underwent extensive repairs.[9] It is unclear whether this was the former rail bridge and current highway bridge.
Railway[edit]
The narrowed valley at this point provided a good location for a bridge.[10] The northwestward advance of the Arrowhead and Kootenay Railway rail head reached Second Crossing in November 1901.[11] That month, a temporary bridge was completed, to be replaced by a truss bridge in the spring.[12] That December, five construction crew sustained minor injuries when their handcar collided with a stationary flatcar just south of the crossing.[13] After a break over the winter,[14] tracklaying on this Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) subsidiary resumed the following May[15] and was completed to the foot of Trout Lake in early June.[16] During 1904, Gold Hill may also have been an unofficial flag stop.[5]
In 1942, CP abandoned the line and the rail bed was adapted to become a public highway.[17]
| Train Timetables (Regular stop or Flag stop) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile | 1903 | 1905 | 1909 | 1912 | 1916 | 1919 | c.1922 | 1929 | 1932 | 1935 | |
| [18] | [19] | [20] | [21] | [22] | [23] | [24] | [25] | [26] | [27] | [18] | |
| Gerrard | 33.1 | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | |
| MacInnes | 23.7 | Regular | Regular | Both | Both | ||||||
| Poplar | 23.1 | Regular | Regular | Flag | Both | Flag | Flag | Flag | |||
| Gold Hill | 19.8 | Flag | Flag | Both | Flag | Flag | Flag | ||||
| Bosworth | 16.3 | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | Flag | Both | Flag | Flag | Flag | |
| Howser | 12.2 | Regular | Flag | Flag | Flag | Both | Flag | Flag | Flag | ||
| La Blanche | 8.0 | Regular | Regular | Regular | Regular | ||||||
| Marble Head | 8.0 | Flag | Both | Flag | Flag | Flag | |||||
Community[edit]
Both Edward Mobbs and Hugh McDonald applied for liquor licences in 1901,[28] but only Joseph Howson, who ran the Ottawa House hotel,[29] was granted one. Months later, he transferred the licence to McDonald.[30]
By summer 1903, a new mining camp held a large number of prospectors.[31] At the time, the wagon road from Poplar Creek was upgraded.[32]
Although the Ulvin Bros applied for a liquor licence that November,[33] their Miners' Hotel may well have opened months later.[34] Casey and Murphy opened the Hotel Bosworth in the new year,[35] but the location could have been closer to Bosworth. In March 1904, Hawthorne Bros completed their store.[36] During the brief 1904–1906 post office existence, Charles Hawthorne was postmaster.[37] By summer 1904, the Hotel Bosworth had become a Casey and Mobbs partnership,[38] and a large number of prospectors worked in the surrounding hills.[39]
After a winter closure, the Ulvin hotel reopened in spring 1905.[40] The gold boom over, the town quickly faded.[3]
During 1913–1915 and 1922, gold dredging operations took place on the river.[41][42]
The train made a one-hour meal stop at the Miners' Hotel into the 1920s.[43] Emma Rear, step-daughter of John Ulvin, later operated the hotel.[44] One account suggests closure in the 1940s and the later dismantling and removal of the building to Gerrard.[45] Another account suggests the hotel was still operating into the 1950s.[43]
All the earlier buildings have since disappeared and only a few scattered later residences remain.
Agriculture[edit]
In 1912, land was promoted for developing orchards.[46]
Map[edit]
- "Lardeau map". geography.ua.edu. 1929.
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ "Gold Hill (locality)". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ "Perry's mining map". wwwdavidrumsey.com. 1893.
- ^ a b "Nelson Star". www.nelsonstar.com. 19 Oct 2014.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 5 Sep 1903. p. 4.
- ^ a b "Nugget". library.ubc.ca. 18 Mar 1904. p. 1.
- ^ "Paystreak". library.ubc.ca. 21 Oct 1899. p. 4.
- ^ "Nelson Daily Miner". library.ubc.ca. 14 Jun 1901. p. 3.
- ^ "Commissioner of Land and Works annual report, 1905–06". library.ubc.ca. p. I29.
- ^ "Minister of Highways annual report, 1964–65". library.ubc.ca. p. C96.
- ^ Alexander 1998, p. 10.
- ^ "Revelstoke Herald". library.ubc.ca. 9 Nov 1901. p. 3.
- ^ "Nelson Tribune". library.ubc.ca. 28 Nov 1901. p. 4.
- ^ "Nelson Daily Miner". library.ubc.ca. 12 Dec 1901. p. 1.
- ^ "Lardeau Eagle". library.ubc.ca. 26 Dec 1901. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 30 May 1902. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 5 Jun 1902. p. 1.
- ^ Alexander 1998, p. 168.
- ^ a b "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 28 Apr 1935. p. 11 (TT 70).
- ^ "Daily News". www.library.ubc.ca. 3 Nov 1903. p. 3.
- ^ "Timetable". www.library.ubc.ca. 8 Oct 1905. p. 62 (43).
- ^ "Timetable". www.library.ubc.ca. 1 Sep 1909. p. 78 (45).
- ^ "Timetable". www.library.ubc.ca. 1 Dec 1912. p. 92 (TT112).
- ^ "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 5 Sep 1916. p. 159 (TT127).
- ^ "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 30 Nov 1919. p. 183 (TT117).
- ^ "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 1922. p. 23 (TT121).
- ^ "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 1929. p. 31 (TT120).
- ^ "Timetable". library.ubc.ca. 25 Sep 1932. p. 471 (TT160).
- ^ "Nelson Tribune". library.ubc.ca. 1 Jun 1901. p. 4.
- ^ "Nelson Tribune". library.ubc.ca. 6 Jun 1901. p. 4.
- ^ "Nelson Tribune". library.ubc.ca. 18 Oct 1901. p. 4.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 15 Jul 1903. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 29 Jul 1903. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 11 Nov 1903. p. 4.
- ^ "Nugget". library.ubc.ca. 29 Apr 1904. p. 2.
- ^ "Nugget". library.ubc.ca. 25 Dec 1903. p. 4.
"Nugget". library.ubc.ca. 5 Feb 1904. p. 4. - ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 16 Mar 1904. p. 6.
- ^ "Postmasters". www.bac-lac.gc.ca.
- ^ "Nugget". library.ubc.ca. 26 Aug 1904. p. 2.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 2 Jul 1904. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 18 Apr 1905. p. 1.
- ^ "Week". library.ubc.ca. 13 Sep 1913. p. 8.
"Mail Herald". library.ubc.ca. 7 Oct 1914. p. 3. - ^ "Minister of Mines annual report, 1914". library.ubc.ca. p. 375 (K325).
"Minister of Mines annual report, 1915". library.ubc.ca. p. 131 (K116).
"Minister of Mines annual report, 1922". library.ubc.ca. p. 222 (N193). - ^ a b Alexander 1998, p. 172.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 27 May 1940. p. 2.
- ^ Alexander 1998, p. 40.
- ^ "Daily News". library.ubc.ca. 24 Apr 1912. p. 8.
References[edit]
- Alexander, J.W.E. (1998). Lardeau-Duncan Memories. Self-published. ISBN 0-9683540-09.