The return of Cpt Mo Wednesday

Molly Hughes Mine

Just a bit north of New Denver, British Columbia. You can get onto the Galena Trail which is an old rail bed at this point right at the side of the highway. The walk in is not too far. You can see old rail ties embedded in the photo below.

There is a path from the trail that leads down a steep bank down to the lake.

The way to the mine is not marked. I was on this trip with Chris Doering (www.bigdoer.com), who loves mining history, and this destination was his idea. I did not know this place existed. If you want to go exploring Chris is the guy you want with you. Getting here was a little bit of trial and error. Keep following the path and you will first come across an old cabin. The cabin is boarded up.

Not there yet. The mine is further down the bank almost at water level.

At this point you can see the old foundations.

If you are out of shape like me, you need to stop and take a few minutes to check out the flora and catch your breath. 

Tracks leading out of the mine.

The mine. Definitely not safe. Took a look inside and did not venture in. Lots of water in the entrance. The mine was productive for over forty years. 

Internet photo of the mine back in its early days.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church (Star-Peno)

The history of this church dates to the late 1890's when a group of settlers formed the first Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Alberta in 1897. The original church was completed in 1911 but unfortunately burned down in 1922. The present church was built in 1927 and contains some of the items saved from the 1922 fire. The stone belfry was built in 1949.

                                 - Dale Redekopp

Morrissey Cemetery

Morrissey, British Columbia was a company coal mining town that was a ghost town by 1909. At one time there was a four room school, a three storey hotel, businesses, a newspaper, even a brewery. The coal in the mines turned out to be unsuitable and the mine had several accidents.

There is nothing left of the town except old overgrown coke ovens that I posted in the past. I did not know about the cemetery. Some work has been done to clean up and update the cemetery. There are crosses with some background information on those that died. Most of the stories are a little unsettling. Very few seem to have died from natural causes.

If you did not know exactly where this place is you would not find it. It is hidden in the trees off of a gravel road. Google gives a location for it that is off by at least fifty feet.

John Garden Edey, Peebles, Scotland, MIner,

died March 28, 1904, killed by falling tree. 24 years old.

Parley P. Batt, Salt Lake City, Miner

died September 3, 1904

Crushed by mine cars, 19 years old.

John Pi Anetta, Austrian, Miner

died May 5, 1909

Suffocated in a mine cave in, 35 years old.

Peter Vincent, Shoemaker

died June 10, 1904

Drowned in the Elk River

Apparently he was on spree and 

decided to swim across the river.

Hebert Marriott, Laborer

died January 17, 1909

Burned to death in Pioneer Hotel, 23 years old.

Daniel McDermid, Prospector

Died December 20, 1907

Slipped under a train. 55 years old.

Unknown English Miner

Died November 29, 1902

Killed in mine cave in.

He had only been in town a few weeks no one really knew

who he was. Said to be under 30 years old.

Pietro Jacketta, Italy, Laborer

Died December 12, 1904, 42 years old

Pneumonia

There are some other graves. Some with information. There are definitely unmarked graves and unknown burials. Life could be dangerous in mining towns.

Bales

Bales near Golden Prairie, Saskatchewan.

- Michael Truman

Past Presence Website

Pilot Bay Lighthouse, Kootenay Lake, British Columbia

A short drive along Pilot Bay Road will take you to the trailhead to go to the lighthouse. 

The trail to the lighthouse is about half a kilometre.

The lighthouse was built in 1904 and became active in 1905 to guide the steamboats on Kootenay Lake. It continued to function until 1993.

Overlooking Kootenay Lake.

Abandoned British Columbia

The ghost town of Alamo, British Columbia. Below is the remains of an old wagon at the site high above the ruins.

Alamo was a Canadian Pacific Railway siding and mining site. There was a concentrator and hydro-electric generating plant. The place was originally known as New Duluth. The mine was staked in 1892. In 1894 a concentrator and mill were built here and the mines were worked off and on for about forty years. In 1904 there were houses, bunkhouses, a school, stores, a post office and a population of about two hundred people. By 1955 a flood and forest fire damaged the area and everything was abandoned.

Along Highway 31A between New Denver and Kaslo there is a turn off to Sandon. Just off the intersection there is a small lot where you can park and walk the Galena Trail to Alamo. The trail is well marked and easy hiking and about three kilometres one way.

Great trail. Quiet, it is like walking in the forest on the west coast. Sometimes you are walking on a old rail line, other times you are walking on the remnants of old trails and roads that people traveled many years ago.

Old pieces of mining equipment can be observed along the trail.

Along the creek.

Little waterfall running down the mountain alongside the trail.

The trail takes you to the bottom of the mining operation. You can see the old rail ties embedded in the foreground in the photo below.

At the top looking down you can see various foundations, cable, pieces of equipment. A friend was with me. We explored at the top, there is cable from an old tramline. There is probably stuff we missed and we do want to do a return trip.

If you keep hiking, just past Alamo on the Galena Trail is a cable car to cross the creek to continue to New Denver. I did not take the cable car, I was not continuing on the trail. The water level was also high with spring runoff.