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110 Years of Rossland History
Thursday, June 14th, 2007 by GetawayBC.com
Rossland has a long and interesting history, stretching from its gold rush days of the 1890s to its current status as one of the best outdoor towns in Canada. All starting with the Le Roi mine claim in 1890, the gold rush would cause Rossland’s population to explode, and for a time, make the city the largest in British Columbia, and one of the major business centres in North America.
While the gold helped Rossland boom, another activity was taking shape that would eventually put Rossland on the map years down the road.
When Olaus Jeldness came to Rossland in 1896, the fate of the city was forever changed. Through his ski races, the legendary ‘tea party’, and ski jumping awards, Jeldness took advantage of the Rossland winter and brought about a new spirit to the city and its future inhabitants. Skiing became the rage in Rossland, and with it came the annual Winter Carnival, to celebrate the winter spirit of Rossland. Olaus Jeldness would eventually leave in 1909 for Spokane, but his mark had been left on the city.
Rossland would boast many different characters as part of its population; one of the most remembered to this day is Father Pat. Reverend Henry Irwin, or Father Pat, was an Anglican minister who came to Rossland at the turn of the century. He was always on hand to help the miners and anyone else who needed his help. Living in a small shack, he was always able to use his fists if the need arose, which it often did in a mining town. He became such a beloved member of the community that after his death the town came together to build a monument to him, which stands to this day on Columbia Ave.
With eccentric Norwegians like Jeldness, and fighting priests like Father Pat, it is little surprise that Rossland also had someone in its early history who would attempt to invent a helicopter, years ahead of its time.
The “Flying Steamshovel”, as it was called by residents due to its resemblance, flew for the first and only time in 1902 with inventor Lou Gagnon piloting it.
Out of the shed in the back of a hotel, Gagnon, a pumpman at the Nickel plate mine, spent years designing his invention in his spare time. Nights in the shed were filled with the noises of blacksmithing, boiler-making and carpentry, much to the annoyance of his neighbours.
Eventually, the big day came and Gagnon was ready to test his invention. After lurching up to the height of the hotel disaster struck. The tail suddenly dropped and the machine corkscrewed downward into a spin, barely missing the edge of the hotel. It crashed upside down, erupting in an explosion of smoke and cinders that ballooned in the winter air and scattered the onlookers in all directions. After the device was lifted off of Gagnon by two men, they found he had a broken leg and was in a state of shock. Soon after, the shack was boarded up and Gagnon began his recovery from the accident with the early helicopter. Gagnon would eventually go to Spokane, before passing away in Toronto years later.
The subsequent years saw hardship hit Rossland as the mines slowly shut down. Central School burned down in 1916, followed in 1927 by a fire that burned all the buildings on Columbia Avenue between Queen Street and Washington Street.
Two years later, the buildings on the north side of Columbia between the Post Office and the old Bank of Montreal burned.
In 1951, Rossland Senior Secondary officially opened its doors as things began to improve in the city. Dial telephones and natural gas would make their appearance in 1956 and 1958, modernizing Rossland.
The sports, specifically skiing, erupted in the 1960s with April Don Bertoia winning a gold medal at the Pan-American Games in 1963.
Four years later, Nancy Greene won the World Women’s Downhill ski championship, becoming the first North American skier to win the World Cup. That same year she won seven of the 16 events she participated in, earning Canadian Athlete of the Year honours for 1967. She repeated in 1968 as World Cup champion, as well as earning a gold and a silver in giant slalom and slalom at the 1968 Winter Olympic games in Grenoble, France. She would repeat as Canada’s Athlete of the Year due to her sporting achievements.
After retiring, Greene would be made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and would be inducted into the British Columbia and Canadian Sports Hall of Fame, as well as have her star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
In 1999, Greene was chosen as Canada’s Female Athlete of the 20th Century.
In 1973, the Rossland Miner building would burn down followed by the White Wolf Hotel in 1975, the Allen Hotel in 1978, the Masonic Hall in 1976, and MacLean Elementary in 1981.
In the 1980s, Rossland would welcome its first female mayor, Jackie Drysdale, and the 1990s would see the continuing development of Rossland as a resort town where one could come for skiing and snowshoeing in the winter, and mountain-biking, golf and hiking in the summer.
Despite being located on top of a mountain, with a small population, Rossland has continued to put itself on the map, either through its athletes, mining, or community spirit. ;