Silverton, British Columbia
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Silverton is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
about south of
New Denver New Denver is a village in the Regional District of Central Kootenay, Central Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada at the mouth of Carpenter Creek (British Columbia), Carpenter Creek, on the east shore of Slocan Lake, in the West Kootenay ...
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 Kootena ...
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 former steamboat landing is at the mouth of Silverton Creek on the eastern shore of
Slocan Lake Slocan Lake is a lake in the Slocan Valley of the West Kootenay region of the Southeastern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. With an area of it has a maximum depth of . It is fed by Bonanza Creek and drained by the Slocan River. In 1947 ...
. The locality, on BC Highway 6 at the junction of BC Highway 31A, is about by road north of Castlegar and by road and ferry south of Revelstoke.


Name origin

Four Mile or Four Mile City, the former name, came from Four Mile Creek flowing through the town. In 1892, William Hunter and J. Fred Hume bought 160 acres of Crown land, upon which they founded the townsite the same year. By 1893, the creek was sometimes called Silverton Creek. The four miles likely measured the distance by trail from New Denver. That year, the new townsite was promoted as Silverton, probably after
Silverton, Colorado Silverton is a statutory town that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in San Juan County, Colorado, United States. The town is located in a remote part of the western San Juan Mountains, a ...
. Over time, Silverton also became the predominant, then official, name for the creek.


Early community

The Slocan Trading and Navigation Co. (ST&N) steamboat ''Wm. Hunter'', launched at New Denver in November 1892, would have served the location on its regular trips from New Denver to the head and foot of the lake. In 1894, the townsite was surveyed. The ST&N, which had primarily served New Denver to Silverton, and Bonanza City, substituted Rosebery/Wilson Creek for the latter from the beginning of 1895. Rosebery connected north with the Nakusp & Slocan Railway to Nakusp on the Upper Arrow Lake, and south with the
Slocan Lake Slocan Lake is a lake in the Slocan Valley of the West Kootenay region of the Southeastern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. With an area of it has a maximum depth of . It is fed by Bonanza Creek and drained by the Slocan River. In 1947 ...
ferry to Slocan. By the late 1890s, six hotels, three general stores, a newspaper, and school existed. Silverton was incorporated as a village in 1930. By this time, the population had fallen to about 500. It was 270 in 1934, 234 in 1939, and 219 in 1943.


Mining

During the Silvery Slocan rush of 1892, miners inundated the area. That year, three key mineral claims, the Standard, Echo, and Alpha, were registered. Silverton catered to miners working the south face of Idaho Mountain. The decline in mining from 1900 culminated in most mining ceasing during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. The underground Willa Mine, south, which has been touted as a profitable investment by a series of different owners over the past 35 years, was abandoned in 2016 by present owners, MX Gold Corporation. Since the early 1890s, no significant ore has been processed from the site.


Present community

At , Silverton is the smallest
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
in BC by area, and was the smallest by population 2002–2011. Zeballos has since held the latter title. When Silverton mayor Jason Clarke was asked to comment on the fact that the census population of 185 at 2016 was the same as 2011, he joked that no one is allowed to leave unless they find a replacement. The Memorial Hall (1919) once housed the second school, but is today used for exhibits by local artists, music and dance classes, concerts and social events. Within the grounds is the Interpretive Centre displaying historical photographs and a collection of artifacts salvaged from surrounding mines, with larger items in the Outdoor Mining Museum by the road. Opposite, two streets back, the Fingland Cabin is restored as a blacksmith shop. The Silverton Lakeshore Inn was the Selkirk Hotel (1897) prior to refurbishing. The lakeshore campground has 15 sites, and along Silverton Creek are 20 further sites.


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; ), 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 ...
, Silverton had a population of 149 living in 78 of its 128 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 195. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.


Notable people

*
Randolph Harding Randolph Harding (September 17, 1914 – March 3, 1996) was a Canadian politician. Biography Born in Silverton, British Columbia, Harding was a teacher and a member of the Silverton municipal council. He was elected as the Co-operative Comm ...
, politician


References


External links

* {{authority control Villages in British Columbia Populated places in the Slocan