New Denver is at the mouth of
Carpenter Creek, on the east shore of
Slocan Lake, 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 Koot ...
region of southeastern
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, for ...
. The village is west of
Kaslo on
Highway 31A, and southeast of
Nakusp and northeast of
Slocan on
Highway 6
Route 6, or Highway 6, may refer to routes in the following countries:
International
* AH6 (highway), Asian Highway 6
* European route E6
* European route E006
Albania
* :de:Nationalstraße 6 (Albanien), National Road SH6
Argentina
* P ...
.
Name origin
In 1892, the town was mostly called Slocan City or Slocan for about a month, Eldorado City or Eldorado for about seven months, and New Denver since. However, these names were used interchangeably for months.
Furthermore, the place may have been known as Carpenter Creek townsite after its founding in 1891.
Appearing about the same time as the
Slocan community at the foot of the lake, it is unclear why the latter prevailed in keeping the name. Until the government survey in mid 1892, the place was a squatters camp for miners.
Named for
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...
, the legendary city of gold, the surrounding mines were hoped to bring comparable prosperity. On discovering the mines were silver deposits, the name changed to reflect the famed silver mines of
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
.
Japanese internment during World War II
One of the nine West Kootenay
internment
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...
centres for
Japanese Canadian
are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them livin ...
s during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, following their removal from the BC Coast, by 1942, the camp held 1,505
Japanese Canadian
are Canadian citizens of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Canadians are mostly concentrated in Western Canada, especially in the province of British Columbia, which hosts the largest Japanese community in the country with the majority of them livin ...
s, who built 275 shacks in a fruit grove known as the "Orchard." Other internment centres in the Slocan region were nearby at
Slocan City
The Village of Slocan is in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry terminal is at the mouth of Springer Creek, at the foot of Slocan Lake. The locality, on BC Highway 6 is about by ro ...
,
Lemon Creek,
Rosebery,
Kaslo and
Sandon.
New Denver's
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre
Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre is a museum that preserves and interprets one of ten Canadian concentration camps where more than 27,000 Japanese Canadians were incarcerated by the Canadian government during and after World War II (1942 to 1 ...
is dedicated to the history of the 27,000 interned Japanese Canadians, and is a
National Historic Site.
Doukhobor dormitory
For decades
Freedomites refused to send their
Doukhobor children to school. After multiple warnings, the government forcibly removed such children from their families. Operating 1953–1959, about 170 children, aged 7–15, passed through the New Denver facility but attended the public school. Although parents were allowed twice-monthly visits, most chose instead to speak to their children through the wire fence.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultu ...
, New Denver had a population of 487 living in 248 of its 304 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 473. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Transport & economy
New Denver was an early service center for mines and the nearby mining towns. A landing on the lake, the stage ran every two days to Nakusp, and four days to
Nelson. In 1895, Denver Canyon became a stop on the former
Nakusp and Slocan Railway The Nakusp and Slocan Railway (N&S) is a historic Canadian railway that operated in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The N&S initially connected Nakusp and Three Forks but soon extended to Sandon.
Proposal
The 1891 disc ...
. The settlement was incorporated as a village in 1929. After the decline in mining, forestry became the economic base, and tourism in more recent times.
Zincton controversy
In May 2020, New Denver resident David Harley, owner of Valhalla Pure Outfitters, proposed building a 55-acre "world-class, all-season, backcountry-oriented" resort called Zincton between New Denver and Kaslo. Those promoting Zincton claim the resort will create jobs and do much to remedy economic and social decline in the area.
The proposed site is in a critical
wildlife corridor
A wildlife corridor, habitat corridor, or green corridor is an area of habitat connecting wildlife populations separated by human activities or structures (such as roads, development, or logging). This allows an exchange of individuals between ...
connecting Goat Range and Kokanee Provincial Parks and is also prime grizzly bear habitat; opponents fear the resort's negative ecological impact. Of the 3000 emailed comments received by British Columbia's Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development regarding Zincton, 2300 opposed building the resort.
Communications
The town is notable for its resistance to mobile phones. In a 2008 referendum, many citizens voted against the introduction of cellular telephone service. Despite this, on 20 July 2010, Telus Canada began installation of a cell phone facility in the heart of the village with many citizens peacefully protesting the installation.
Climate
Flora and fauna
2019 saw a drastic increase in New Denver's native
roof rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
population. The
Norwegian rat was introduced to the area the same year and is thought to have arrived by transport truck from other regions. Council members blamed the infestation on local gardening and composting practices.
Notable people
*
Aubrey Nealon Aubrey Nealon (born 1971 in New Denver, British Columbia) is a Canadian film and television director, producer and writer, most noted as the creator and showrunner of the CTV drama series ''Cardinal''.
Nealon began his career as a teen actor, with ...
(born 1971), film and television director, producer and writer
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Doukhobors
Mining communities in British Columbia
Populated places in the Slocan
Villages in British Columbia
World War II internment camps in Canada