Riondel is on the eastern shore of Kootenay 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, ...

. The village of approximately 250 people is on Riondel Road about north of

Kootenay Bay Kootenay Bay is an unincorporated community on the east shore of Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The ferry terminal and former steamboat landing, on BC Highway 3A, is by road about north of Creston a ...

, the

Kootenay Lake Ferry The Kootenay Lake ferry is a ferry across Kootenay Lake in southeastern British Columbia, which operates between Balfour, on the west side of the lake, and Kootenay Bay, on the east side. The MV ''Osprey 2000'' and the MV ''Balfour'' are the two v ...

eastern terminal. The latter is about by road north of Creston and by road and lake ferry northeast of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Explorers

The

Ktunaxa The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...

showed Archibald McDonald of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

the huge lead outcrop in 1844. However, the estimated to the mouth of the Columbia River made the deposits worthless. By the 1880s, railroads advancing across the US, and steamboats travelling up the rivers into BC, would change the economics.

Sproule & Hendryx

In 1882, Robert Evan (Bob) Sproule staked four claims along the Riondel Peninsula, which included the Bluebell mine. In 1884, Sproule sold an interest in the mine to Dr. Wilbur A. Hendryx, but forfeited an interest to George Jennings Ainsworth to settle a partner's debt. In 1886, Sproule was

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

for murdering Thomas Hammill over a years earlier claim dispute. At this time, on buying out the Ainsworth interests, the mine ownership passed wholly to Hendryx's Kootenay Mining and Smelting Company (KM&S). The settlement was known as Hendryx or Hendryx Camp. When the ineffective Pilot Bay smelter closed in 1896, the Hendryx settlement was renamed the Blue Bell Camp.

Canadian Metal Company

In 1905, the Canadian Metal Company purchased the mine. The next year, the steamboat hulks containing dormitories were replaced by married men's cottages and single men's bunkhouses. In 1907, the settlement was renamed Riondel after Count Edouard Riondel, the company president and French banker. Often mispronounced, the correct way is Ree-on-del with accent very slightly on the first syllable. The

concentrator In the evolution of modern telecommunications systems there was a requirement to connect large numbers of low-speed access devices with large telephone company 'central office' switches over common paths. During the first generations of digital netw ...

, operational from 1908, proved effective. When new pumping equipment failed to keep pace with flooding at the lower levels, the mine was abandoned in 1921.

Fowler & Eastman

In 1924, engineer and entrepreneur, S.S. Fowler, with partner B.L. Eastman, obtained some financial backing from Canadian Pacific Railway’s Consolidated Mining and Smelting (CM&S) subsidiary to reopen the operation. Able to sufficiently dewater the mine, extraction resumed. After concentrating the zinc-rich lead ore using a methodology determined by the limited electricity supply, the product went to the

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

smelter. To raise further capital, the venture was incorporated in 1929 as the Blue Bell Mines Limited, but the October stock market crash financially ruined the partners.

Consolidated Mining and Smelting

The major creditor, CM&S assumed ownership, leaving the mine idle until after

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The Riondel population, formerly stable at around 70 people, dropped to 22 by 1943. Beginning in 1950, the mine and the settlement were refurbished at a cost of $1.3 million, including a new smelter.

Hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

plants across the lake on the

Kootenay River The Kootenay or Kootenai river is a major river in the Northwest Plateau, in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northern Montana and Idaho in the United States. It is one of the uppermost major tributary, tributaries of the Columbia Ri ...

replaced local generators for the electricity supply. The mine operated from 1952 until exhausted in 1971. Having supported a population of 300, it was the longest active mine in the province. The site was abandoned four years later.

Post-mining community

Most employees departed, but many older ones stayed. Riondel became a popular retirement community, at one time having more seniors per capita than any other

postal code A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...

in Canada. Today Riondel is a tidy village with streets, a lakeside campground, beach, community centre, playground, cable TV system, 9-hole golf course, grocery and liquor store, cafe, and pub. In April 2006,

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

connected Riondel with dial-up internet.

Recreational activities

Hiking

*The Waterfront Trail follows of the lakeshore from the south end of North Bay beach; *Pebble Beach Trail, north of Riondel, leads from the Kootenay Lake East FS Road to a south-facing pebbled beach; *15-minute Pilot Bay Lighthouse Trail leads to an historic 1907 lighthouse;The History of Pilot Bay Lighthouse on Kootenay Lake / Hulland, Susan, 1946-1997 *The one-hour Pilot Bay Marine Park Trail covers varying terrain along the lakeshore; *Plaid Lake Hiking Trail, near Crawford Bay, is a full-day hike to the alpine Plaid Lake on the west side of the Purcell Mountains; *Duck Lakes Dykes Trail, near Sirdar, offers miles of almost level hiking through some of the richest

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

habitat in BC.

Golf

The two golf clubs are the 9-hole, Par 3 course at the Riondel Golf Club (on Galena Bay Wharf Road, 10 minutes from the

), and the 18-hole championship Kokanee Springs Golf Resort (in Crawford Bay).

Fishing

Kootenay Lake is well stocked with many species of fish, including kokanee,

rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden,

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota'') is the only gadiform (cod-like) freshwater fish. It is also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout. The species is closel ...

, and whitefish. The lake supports record-sized Rainbow Trout. The world's largest recorded kokanee, almost , was caught in Kootenay Lake. ''Kokanee'' (Kekeni) means 'red fish' in the

Sinixt The Sinixt"Sinixt Nation…" (also known as the Sin-Aikst or Sin Aikst,Reyes 2002, ''passim.'' "Senjextee", "Arrow Lakes Band", or — less commonly in recent decades — simply as "The Lakes") are a First Nations People. The Sinixt are ...

Interior Salish The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first Salishan people encountered by American exp ...

language. It is the name given to the land-locked salmon that spawn in large numbers in

Kokanee Creek Kokanee Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park on the west shore of Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Highway 3A bisects the park east of Nelson. Established as a BC Provincial Park in 1955, it ...

in the late summer. The best fishing time is in the fall and winter months.

Camping

The private Riondel Campground is from the Riondel general store. A second campground and

RV park A recreational vehicle park (RV park) or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a tru ...

lies north of Riondel.

Riondel Daze

During the weekend of the Civic Holiday, Riondel hosts an annual celebration called Riondel Daze. The Historical Society of Riondel usually has its vintage ambulance, a 1949 Mercury, at the event. Other elements are a ball tournament with a hot dog stand, local music, and a stand-still parade.

Sundry

Other outdoor opportunities in Riondel include canoeing or kayaking the waters of Kootenay Lake (rentals available), swimming, wildlife and nature viewing, boating and sailing, horse-drawn adventures, and backcountry exploration. On Sundays, a youth group at the Riondel Recreation Centre plays floor hockey and other games such as pool and air hockey; they also have movies available. The Riondel Community Centre, in a former school, has an auditorium for community events. The Centre houses the Riondel Art Club, the Riondel Seniors' Society, the Riondel Commission of Management, Riondel Community Library, and the Historical Society. A children's playground is outside.

Footnotes

References

Community of RiondelKootenay Lake Region