Anaconda is an unincorporated community south of the confluence of Eholt and

Boundary Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment *Boundaries (2016 film), ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film *Boundaries (2018 film), ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip ...

creeks in the

Boundary Country The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west o ...

region of south central

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. About west of

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

, and east of

Osoyoos Osoyoos (, ) is the southernmost town in the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia between Penticton and Omak. The town is north of the United States border with Washington state and is adjacent to the Osoyoos Indian reserve. The origin of the na ...

, on

Highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3. For roads numbered 3A, see 3A. International * Asian Highway 3 * Europea ...

, the neighbourhood is immediately south of Greenwood.

Early community

The name came from a local mine, which was called after the smelters and associated company near

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

. In 1896, Anaconda (like Greenwood) was booming, and the townsite was laid out. The

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CP) extension of the

Columbia and Western Railway The Columbia and Western Railway (C&W) was a historic, and initially narrow gauge, railway in southern British Columbia. Heinze ownership Proposal & planning Fritz Augustus Heinze, who opened a smelter at Butte, Montana in 1893, was seeking inve ...

arrived in 1899. By 1901, a post office, four hotels, two general stores, a bakery, shoemaker, assay office, sawmill, lawyer, and newspaper existed. The Anaconda News operated 1900–1908. Assumedly, the Anaconda Standard folded in the late 1890s. Greenwood outgrew Anaconda, but the many overtures to amalgamate never eventuated.

Smelter

The BC Copper Company smelter operated 1901–1918, when falling copper prices forced its closure. Initial capacity enabled an average of 360 tons to be processed daily. In 1902, an additional furnace increased daily capacity to 700–800 tons, mainly sourced from the Mother Lode Mine. Built in 1903, the chimney still stands. Added the next year, the Bessemerizing plant produced the much purer

blister copper Copper extraction refers to the methods used to obtain copper from its ores. The conversion of copper consists of a series of physical and electrochemical processes. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, loca ...

. Extensions increased daily capacity to 1,700 tons in 1907, and 2,200 tons in 1910. The CP line delivered ore and coke, and shipped out the processed copper. An electric railway took molten

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-prod ...

to a huge dump, and moved inputs and outputs within the plant.

Electricity substation

The

Bonnington Falls Bonnington Falls were waterfalls submerged by dams on the Kootenay River between the cities of Castlegar and Nelson, in the West Kootenay region of southern British Columbia. The upper falls was named after the Falls of Clyde upper falls of Bonn ...

hydro generating station supplied electricity. The 1905 substation (northern edge of the residential area) that provided electricity to the smelter, became part of West Kootenay Power, operating until replaced in the 1980s. Plans to repurpose the building as an interpretive centre and alternate power project have been in limbo for many years. The public are welcome to wander across the adjacent slag pile, called Lotzkar Park, accessible from side roads west of Greenwood.

Present community

Anaconda is primarily a residential neighbourhood, with substantial vacant land that is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

of its vibrant past.

Footnotes

References