On October 31, 1899, a brief Truro news article documented Karl's sighting. It read: “As I was coming from work last Monday morning the 16th, I met Karl Creelman, Truro’s Globetrotter, with his wheel going through about two inches of snow. He looks well. We had a long talk. He was on his way to Northport, USA. He told me that he had walked about six hundred miles since he left Truro, but he is not any the worse for his trip. Times are very good in Rossland, the weather is cold and wet.”
Dear reader, let me paint a picture of these mining towns when Karl cycled through this region in 1899. Prospectors were flocking to Rossland with the lure of gold from Red Mountain — part of the Monashee Mountains range, which spans British Columbia and extends into Washington State. Those seeking their fortunes in Red Mountain faced more demanding challenges than the prospectors who panned for gold in California 50 years earlier. This was due to the geology of BC’s gold, which was “attached” to other rocks, like quartz, requiring more complex mining techniques to extract the precious metals.
Yet, the extra effort required to strike it rich did little to deter hopeful miners. As it turns out, the “ore” (rock containing a high concentration of valuable minerals) from Red Mountain held gold, copper, and minor quantities of lead and zinc.
The first claims were staked in 1890, drawing even more miners and prospectors, including Ross Thompson. He secured 60 acres of land for the townsite and, naturally, named it “Rossland” after himself! Over the next ten years, the town’s population swelled to 7,000 and on March 18, 1897, Rossland was officially incorporated as a city.
A flurry of mine establishments soon followed on Red Mountain, with operations like Centre Star, War Eagle, Josie, and Black Bear extracting gold, copper, silver, and zinc. Then, a building boom ensued, with homes, schools, churches, saloons, courthouses, and shops rapidly filling the new city’s landscape.
When Karl arrived in Rossland in 1899, it was already a bustling city and the premier mining town in North America, boasting 42 saloons! The “famous Le Roi” mine, visited by Karl and referenced in Chronicle #185, was one of the most lucrative. Purchased for a mere $12.50 in 1890, it grossed over 24 million grams (roughly 53,000 lbs) of gold, making Rossland one of the highest gold-producing regions of British Columbia until the 1920s.
Unfortunately, like many cities in the early 1900s, Rossland was ravaged by fire—not once, but three times—between Karl’s visit and mine, in 1902, 1927, and 1929, destroying many of those original buildings.
Though the Le Roi mine is no longer active, I had the chance to step back in time at the Rossland Museum, built on the Black Bear/Le Roi Mine site. The museum also serves as the visitor center. It offers a great opportunity to learn more about the region through its excellent permanent exhibits on the Rossland Mine, Ross Thompson, geology, crimes, prohibition, brothels, and skiing history.
Today, skiing reigns supreme as the main draw for visitors to Red Mountain. Back in 1896, one of the mining engineers, Olaus Jeldness, a Norwegian and an alpine skier, organized the first ski race on the mountain. Two years later, the first ski club was founded. This tradition continues today, with Red Mountain offering 3,850 skiable acres for all skill levels. While the winter season sees locals and tourists hitting the slopes of Red Mountain, the spring and summer seasons bring in mountain bikers. Rossland is now known as the Mountain Biking Capital of Canada, with over 200 km of trails, including old whiskey routes, miners’ trails, and former railway tracks—the same tracks newly laid in 1899 served as the platform for our intrepid cyclist as he journeyed to Rossland.
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