Salute to Kimberley - Page One
And so it was in the beginning....
Since there isn't anyone alive to account for all of the facts and discoveries that occurred in the late 1800's and
there wasn't a local newspaper being printed a local writer, and the Kimberley museum have summarized for us the
important facts that haave lead to where we are today.
The story began in 1892 with the discovery of high grade ores, rich in silver and lead. The results were the making of
small towns and smelters throughout the Kootenays when traveling between towns was very rugged.
1896
A gentleman by the name of William Ridpath, a spokane lawyer invested heavily in several Kootenay mining ventures and
was among one of the first backers of the fabulous LeRoi Mine at Rossland. Ridpath was said to have renamed a huddle of
tents at Mark Creek Crossing because he hoped the camp would have the same luck as the South African centre "Kimberley".
Ridpath was to have said to have paid $24,000 for the Sullivan. There was also a tale of a Mr McArthur who grubstaked
with Mr. Pat Sullivan who apparently was said to have died three years earlier.
Being one of the four men who discovered
the Sullivan Mine he stated that he woke up and counted a dozen tents back in 1892.
They had made an important discovery
then and there was where he picked up a piece of a wooden box and wrote "Kimberley Camp" on it and nailed in on a tree
beside the fire.
1898 - 1899
The original townsite of Kimberley was surveyed by Thomas T and A.S. McVittie of Fort Steele and subdivided into lots.
The boundary of Townsite at this time was Leadenhall (South), to Jennings Ave (East) to North Star (west).
The St.Mary's Wagon road to Matthew creek was put in.
The North Star Hotel was built and the owner was Harry Drew. Drew owned the hotel from 1898 to 1910, and was quite
a character. People said he was the most colorful man to move into the area at the time. In his hotel the saloon section
never closed its doors and it ran 24 hours a day with three shifts of barkeeps.
Harry Webster Drew studied law and self defense back in Boston where he grew up. He worked out as a sparring partner for
such men as James J Jeffries who became the world's heavyweight champion and Tom Sharkley. When he had to handle
roughnecks, a class that seemed to patronize saloons in that era his fists could tell a story. At the saloon you could
play slot machines, both mills big six And the dime jackpot type, plus poker, blackjack and dice games ran full blast.
Harry Drew stood 6 foot tall and weighed about 190 lbs, wore a large mustache, drove a Cadillac and was well respected.
Legend has it that when he moved from Boston he was friends with a Mr. Stoper who owned a hotel in High River, Alberta.
They moved the hotel from High River to Cranbrook when the railway came through and rebuilt on Baker Street in Cranbrook
to be known as "The Manitoba". In the meantime with the discovery of the Northstar and the Sullivan properties Drew and
Stoper moved to Kimberley and built the Northstar Hotel. Harry Drew lived a life of riley until prohibition came in.
Leaving him with a stake to the value of $5000.00 and his doors closed to the public. This broke his ieart. Drew then
moved to the coast where in a few short years he died of just that.
Hotels built around this time were The Spokane which went up in smoke as did the Forsythe Hotel, The Jones and Finch went
for a ride to Marysville and back, to be known as the Falls View. The Ontario hotel was built by Jim Carroll andi went
for taxes in 1914 as did The Kimberley as well.
The townsite of Marysville was staked out in 1894 by Bill Meacham who
was one of the first trapper prospectors to settle around Mark Creek. Until 1903 the total settlement in the new townsite
consisted of three or four shacks. The smelter was built for the treatment of ore being mined at the Sullivan and North
Star, a short distance north. With the start of the smelter, Marysville was booming. Stores were built and the "Marysville
News" started and hotels were constructed.
1900 to 1910
Prospectors Ed Smith, John Cleaver, Pat Sullivan and Walter Burchett who are now peacefully resting at the
St. Mary's Mission, were gathering supplies after a very rugged overland trip from Kootenay Lake and decided to stop and
see the finds at the North Star. They couldn't believe what lay before them - rich ore lay in cuts on the surface.
With great enthusiasm and excitement the men then set out to explore the slope on the other side of the creek. Pat and Ed
went along the creek while Walter picked up a piece of "float' and to his amazement noticed a great rust stain "ORE."
And this was the discovery that built Kimberley into a town. Unfortunately only in Walter Burchett's later years did he
learn the tremendous extent of the discovery. The others died without really knowing their find was to become "the big one."
The first log cabin school was built in 1900 where the Elks hall is today and the second built at the North Star mine and
in 1904. The third school in Kimberley was built and was a small white structure where the Cominco General office is today.
A tramway was eventually built at the Sullivan to carry the ore from th Top Mine I 1/2 miles down the mountain side to the
creek bottom.
Next.
Salute to Kimberley - Index Page
Front Cover - Inside Front Cover
Page One 1896 - 1910, -
Page Two 1900 - 1911, -
Page Three 1912 - 1920, -
Page Four 1921 - 1924, -
Page Five 1925
Page Six 1926, -
Page Seven 1927, -
Page Eight 1928, -
Page Nine 1929, -
Page Ten 1930, -
Page Eleven 1930, -
Page Twelve 1931/32, -
Page Thirteen 1933 - 1936, -
Page Fourteen 1937 - 1939, -
Page Fifteen 1940, -
Page Sixteen 1941/42, -
Page Seventeen 1943, -
Page Eighteen 1944/45, -
Page Nineteen 1945/46, -
Page Twenty 1946/47, -
Page Twentyone 1948, -
Page Twentytwo 1948, -
Page Twentythree 1949, -
Page Twentyfour 1950/51, -
Page Twentyfive 1951, -
Page Twentysix 1952, -
Page Twentyseven 1953, -
Page Twentyeight 1954/55, -
Page Twentynine 1955, -
Page Thirty 1956/57, -
Page Thirtyone 1957/58, -
Page Thirtytwo 1958/59, -
Page Thirtythree 1959 - 1961, -
Page Thirtyfour 1961/62, -
Page Thirtyfive 1962/63, -
Page Thirtysix 1963/64, -
Page Thirtyseven 1964 - 1966, -
Page Thirtyeight 1967, -
Page Thirtynine 1968 - 1970, -
Page Forty 1970, -
Page Fortyone 1971, -
Page Fortytwo 1972, -
Page Fortythree 1973, -
Page Fortyfour 1974/75, -
Page Fortyfive 1975, -
Page Fortysix 1976, -
Page Fortyseven 1976, -
Page Fortyeight 1977/78, -
Page Fortynine 1978, -
Page Fifty 1979/80, -
Page Fiftyone 1981/82, -
Page Fiftytwo 1982/83, -
Page Fiftythree 1983/84, -
Page Fiftyfour 1985, -
Page Fiftyfive 1986/87, -
Page Fiftysix 1987/88, -
Page Fiftyseven 1988/89, -
Page Fiftyeight 1989 - 1991, -
Page Fiftynine 1991/92, -
Page Sixty 1993/94, -
Page Sixtyone 1995, -
Page Sixtytwo 1996/97, -
Page Sixtythree 1997/98, -
Page Sixtyfour 1998/99, -
Back Cover
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