Riondel, British Columbia
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Riondel is on the eastern shore of Kootenay Lake in the
Kootenays 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 Koote ...
region of southeastern
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. The village of approximately 266 people is on Riondel Road about north of Kootenay Bay, the Kootenay Lake ferry eastern terminal. The latter is about by road north of Creston and by road and lake ferry northeast of Nelson.


History


Explorers

The Kutenai (Ktunaxa) showed Archibald McDonald of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
the huge lead outcrop in 1844. However, the estimated to the mouth of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook language, Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin language, Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river headwater ...
made the deposits worthless. By the 1880s, railroads advancing across the United States, and
steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...
s travelling up the rivers into British Columbia, would change the economics.


Sproule and 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 sent to the gallows and hanged for murdering Thomas Hammill over a claim dispute from years earlier. 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 the accent very slightly on the first syllable. The concentrator, 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 and Eastman

In 1924, engineer and entrepreneur, S.S. Fowler, with partner B.L. Eastman, obtained some financial backing from
Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...
's Consolidated Mining and Smelting (CM&S and now Teck Resources) 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 a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...
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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. 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 generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...
plants across the lake on the Kootenay River 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 capital 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 numerical digit, digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, inclu ...
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, café, and pub. In April 2006, Telus connected Riondel with dial-up internet.


Demographics

As of the
2021 Canadian census The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canada, 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%, whic ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...
, Riondel had a population of 266 living in 140 of its 206 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 253. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The median age of Riondel is 62, average age 55.2, compared with 42.8, and 43.1, for the province as a whole. Compared to the rest of the province the population is older with 42.6 per cent being 65 or older, while only 20.3 per cent of all British Columbians are in that age group. In terms of language and ethnicity the community was fairly homogeneous with 92.4 per cent reporting English as their mother tongue, 1.89 per cent French, and 5.66 per cent reporting Slavic or German languages. There were no reported visible minorities or people with Indigenous ancestry. However, there was a small Indigenous population with 15 people reporting they were
First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...
.


Services


Emergency Services

Riondel has a volunteer fire department as well as ambulance service, both on Fowler Street. Both are available at all times for emergencies.


Riondel Market

The Riondel Market, located at 1504 Eastman Avenue, is a small
general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...
carrying, among other things, groceries, liquor, and camping supplies.


Postal Service

Sharing a building with the Riondel Market, the Riondel Post Office is part of Canada Post. It is closed on Saturdays and Sundays and closes daily from 1:00 P.M. to 1:30 P.M. for the lunch break.


Ro Neighbourhood Coffee

Ro Neighbourhood Coffee is a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
coffee shop at 1508 Eastman Avenue, next to the Riondel Market. It was built by a group of Christians in 1959, and first became a coffee shop in 2022. It is currently owned by the Harbour at Riondel. It was closed in early 2024 and still awaits reopening.


Schooling

Public schooling is available in Crawford Bay. The Riondel Community Centre was once a school but is now a town complex.


Recreational activities


Hiking

*The Waterfront Trail follows of the lake shore 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; *The 15-minute Pilot Bay Lighthouse Trail, in the Pilot Bay Provincial Park, leads to an historic 1907 lighthouse; *The one-hour Pilot Bay Marine Park Trail covers varying terrain along the lake shore; *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 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 Kootenay Lake ferry), 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 (sockeye salmon), rainbow and cutthroat trout, Dolly Varden, burbot, 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 Interior Salish languages of the Sinixt. It is the name given to the land-locked salmon that spawn in large numbers in Kokanee Creek 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. It has 34 sites and is located next to North Beach. A second campground and RV park lies north of Riondel at Garland Bay.


Riondel Daze

During the weekend of the August 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 Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...
or
kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
the waters of Kootenay Lake (rentals available), swimming, wildlife and nature viewing, boating and sailing, horse-drawn adventures, and back country 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.


Riondel Community Centre

The Riondel Community Centre, in a former school, has an auditorium for community events. The centre houses the Riondel Art Club, the Riondel Community Association, 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


Further reading

* ''Bluebell Memories'' by A. Terry Turner * ''Impressions of the Past'' by A. Terry Turner * ''A Recollection of Moments: Riondel 1907-2007'' by Wendy M E Scott {{authority control Populated places in the Regional District of Central Kootenay Populated places in the West Kootenay Designated places in British Columbia