Thrums is an unincorporated community on the northwest shore of the

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

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 location, on BC Highway 3A, is by road about northeast of Castlegar, and southwest 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 ...

Name origin

J.M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

author, also wrote Auld Licht Idylls, A Window in Thrums, and The Little Minister, set in the fictional Scottish village of Thrums. In 1900, the second book in the trilogy gave Thrums, BC, a

railway switch A railroad switch ( AE), turnout, or (set of) points ( CE) is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off. Design ...

, its name. The suggested proponent/s are Robert W. and Janie A.S. Chalmers (a farming couple who settled around this time), an unknown female train passenger, or the daughter of an unspecified

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 ...

(CP) director.

Railway

CP's adding of this

Columbia and Kootenay Railway The Columbia and Kootenay Railway (C&KR) was a historic railway operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. This route, beside the unnavigable Kootenay River, linked Nelson on the west arm of Koo ...

siding to the timetable in 1900 may have been merely as a designated siding. The flag stop, which appeared around 1905 was northeast of Brilliant, and southwest of

Tarry's Tarrys is an unincorporated community spanning both shores of the Kootenay River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The location, on British Columbia Highway 3A, BC Highway 3A, is by road about northeast of Castlegar, B ...

. Passenger service ended in 1964.

Early community

Fruit growing was initially the main industry, which transformed to farming over time. The Chalmers, longtime residents from Scotland, also raised poultry. A general store opened in the 1910s. Becoming predominantly a

Doukhobor The Doukhobors ( Canadian spelling) or Dukhobors (; ) are a Spiritual Christian ethnoreligious group of Russian origin. They are known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history, hymn-singing, and verse. They reject the Russian Ortho ...

community, the Thrums Cemetery opened in 1912. Operated by the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ (USCC) from 1940 until the 1970s, the site is now disused and overgrown. Several stores operated by the 1940s. The Chalmers ran a small store and tea room called The Window from the early 1940s. The population was about 150 by 1928, 250 by 1934, 174 by 1939, 387 by 1943, 250 by 1946, and 218 by 1951. The post office, which opened in 1906, did not reopen after burning down in 1978.

Freedomites

Various incidents linked to the

Freedomites The Freedomite movement split-off from the Doukhobors, a community of Spiritual Christians who began a mass migration from Russia to Canada in 1898. The Freedomite movement first appeared in 1902 in what is now Saskatchewan, and later most moved ...

:
1930: Attempted arson of community hall and damage by explosives to school.
1932: Parading in nude prompted 118 arrests and three-year sentences.
1938: Church burned.
1946: Doukhobor hall destroyed by fire.
1947: Barns burned.
1958: Nearby gas pipeline dynamited.
1959: Three feet of CP track dynamited.

Present community

A market/deli and small businesses operate. Since Thrums can be used as a generic name for the area that stretches north to Glade, the boundary with Tarrys is unclear.

Notable people

Joe Irving (1911–2015), author, ironworker activist, graduated high school in his 90s, and centenarian, was the first baby born in Thrums.

Footnotes

References

*{{cite web , url=https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/7891/Cran_GregoryJames_PhD_2003.pdf?sequence=1 , last=Cran , first=Gregory James , title=A Narrative Inquiry into the Discourse of Conflict among the Doukhobors and Between the Doukhobors and Government , year=2003 , website=www.library.uvic.ca Settlements in British Columbia Populated places in the West Kootenay