Thomas Creighton was a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

who found mineral deposits in

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 ...

. With his partners Jack and Dan Mosher, Creighton discovered gold on the west side of

Amisk Lake Amisk (Beaver) Lake is a lake in east-central Saskatchewan (south-west of Flin Flon) in Canada. 'Amisk' means beaver in Cree. Saskatchewan Highway 167 provides road access. Denare Beach, the largest settlement, is located on the east side of ...

in 1913. This was the first significant mineral in the area, leading to an influx of more than a thousand men and women from all over Canada. By 1914 a row of tents and log cabins, along with two cookhouses capable of feeding two hundred people at a time, developed at a place known as "Beaver City". Soon a freighting business was set up, then barns and boarding houses were also built to look after the many travellers. With the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

, the freighting industry, and the fishing industry, the

boom town A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...

Beaver City seemed sustainable. However, when the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out, many left or moved to Sturgeon Landing to find work in the Mandy Mine there. Beaver City began to deteriorate, and by 1918 had practically become 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'' ...

. One day whilst wandering in the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

he came upon a copy of ''

The Sunless City ''The Sunless City: From the Papers and Diaries of the Late Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin'' (or simply ''The Sunless City'') is a dime novel written by J. E. Preston Muddock in 1905. The novel is about a prospector named Josiah Flintabbaty Flonat ...

'' by J. E. Preston Muddock. The story is about a man named Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin "Flin Flon", who piloted a

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

through a bottomless lake. Upon passing through a hole lined with gold, he found a strange underground world. When Tom Creighton discovered a rich vein of almost pure

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

, he thought of the book and called it

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within ...

. The town of Creighton was founded in the 1930s, when some twenty homes were built on either side of the winter trail between Flin Flon and Sandy Bay ( Denare). The community grew somewhat after the Saskatchewan Department of Natural Resources constructed a road from Flin Flon to Amisk Lake. A commemorative

cairn A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...

to Thomas Creighton is located on Main Street near Creighton School. In 1978, the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

produced the short documentary ''Canada Vignettes: Flin Flon'' about the origin of the city's name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creighton, Thomas Canadian prospectors Canadian people of Irish descent Year of birth missing Year of death missing