Champion Creek 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'' ...
located in the
West Kootenay
The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people.
Boundaries
The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...
region of
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, ...
. It is a former Doukhobor settlement. The town is near Champion Creek on the east side of Columbia River, between Trail and Castlegar.
History
A 920-acre area at the confluence of Champion Creek and the
Columbia River
The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
was purchased in 1912 by
Doukhobors
The Doukhobours or Dukhobors (russian: духоборы / духоборцы, dukhobory / dukhobortsy; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are one of many non-Orthodox ethno-confessional faiths in Russia an ...
from
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. They named the area ''Blagondatnoe'' and established five unnamed communal villages, which included barns, a blacksmith shop, granaries, a planer mill, and a saw mill. They cleared forests and planted gardens and orchards. The community went into decline in 1937 following the demise of the
Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρισ ...
. By 1963, the villages had been abandoned and the land sold.
See also
*
List of ghost towns in British Columbia
This is a list of ghost towns in the Canadian province of British Columbia, including those still partly inhabited or even overtaken by modern towns, as well as those completely abandoned or derelict. Region of location and associated events or en ...
References
External links
Map of Doukhobor Settlements at Champion Creek, British Columbia, 1912-1938
Ghost towns in British Columbia
Doukhobors
West Kootenay
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