Kamloops Mining & Development Company

 

Historical Name: Kamloops Mining & Development Company 

Common Name: C.C. Woodhouse Assay Office 

Address: 1854 Columbia Avenue 

Date of Construction: 1895

Architecture: Victorian Commercial

 

The Kamloops Mining & Development Company building was built in 1895, following the company’s transfer to Rossland.  Located at 1854 Columbia Avenue, the three-storey, gable-roofed building is one of Rossland’s oldest surviving structures.

 

Construction of the Kamloops Mining & Development building, 1895. Image: City of Vancouver Archives.

History

The building was used as the company’s assaying office and operated by C.C. Woodhouse Jr., a founding partner of the Kamloops Mining & Development Company.  In 1898, the building underwent a series of renovations.  Columbia Avenue was then graded (levelled) in September 1898, and, as a result, the building remained at 12 feet above street level.  Following this, the Kamloops Mining & Development Company decided to excavate the building and add an additional storey.  The addition, which became the building’s new first floor, housed the company’s reception room and mineralogical exhibit, while the workrooms and assay office were located on the second floor.  According to the Rossland Miner, a “fancy” front was also added to the building.

 

Columbia Avenue, showing the Kamloops Mining & Development building in the distance, circa 1900. Image: City of Vancouver Archives.

By 1902, the building was owned by Harold E. Forster, president of the Kamloops Mining & Development Company.  Forster owned the building until approximately 1915-1916, at which point it was purchased by Andrew Milton Johnson from Pasco, Washington.  In 1920, the building’s owner was listed as his wife, Margaret K. Gray-Johnson, who owned the building until at least 1936.  Due to a 13-year gap in the City of Rossland Tax Rolls, it is unknown when the building was sold.  By 1949, however, the building was owned by Margaret M. Babcock.

At some point prior to 1938, the building’s second and third floors were transformed into apartments.  Currently, the entire building is used for residential purposes.

 

Quick Facts

  • The Kamloops Mining & Development Company building is the second-oldest building in Rossland (the oldest being the Lemon Block).

  • Despite being constructed of wood, the building survived the infamous 1902 Fire.  The fire, which destroyed much of Rossland’s downtown core, resulted in a bylaw requiring all new buildings to be constructed of a material other than wood.

  • According to the Fire Insurance Maps of 1897 and 1912, the property once contained an underground vault, located behind the building.

48-74: The Kamloops Mining & Development Company building and Columbia Avenue, 1914.

 

For More Information:

Sources:

  • City of Rossland Fonds. Collection of the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre

  • Rossland Miner. Collection of the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre

 

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