West Kootenay Power: Through the Ages
The West Kootenay Power & Light Company (WKPL) has been influential in the growth and development of Rossland and the surrounding communities. Rossland’s golden boom town years and later skiing fame would not have been possible if not for the electricity services and breakthroughs provided by the WKPL.
Key Figures
Sir Charles Ross, 9th Baronet of Balnagown
Charles Ross (1872-1942) was the founder of the West Kootenay Power & Light company. Ross was a Scottish noble and educated at the prestigious Eton College and Cambridge University.
Ross arrived in Rossland between 1895-1896 and became involved in the Centre Star Mine. He formed West Kootenay Power & Light to supply power to the Centre Star Mine, but soon received a charter to supply electricity to the entire West Kootenay region. Ross named sections of the Kootenay River (Bonnington and Corra Linn) after waterfalls in his native Scotland. He was directly involved in the construction of the Lower Bonnington Dam and the power line to Rossland, frequently visiting the site.
Ross is more widely-known for inventing the infamous Ross rifle, used by the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Although an excellent hunting rifle, it was unsuitable for the hardship of trench warfare and frequently jammed.
L. A. Campbell
Lorne Argyle Campbell (1871-1947) was not just a staple of West Kootenay Power & Light, but Rossland itself. Originally from Perth, Ontario, Campbell started his career at the Canadian General Electric Company and became the company’s Chief Engineer at the age of 21. In 1898, his career took him to Rossland, securing the role of General Manager of West Kootenay Power & Light. As the company’s leader, Campbell revolutionised energy production in the West Kootenays and oversaw one of the most significant power production programs in Canada. At the time of his death on April 29, 1947, Campbell had led WKPL for 49 years. He was much beloved in Rossland and following the announcement of his death, local businesses were shuttered in his honour.
Campbell’s ambition led him to a secondary career in provincial politics. In 1912, he was elected to the Legislature Assembly of BC as a member of the Conservative Party. Campbell was appointed to the cabinet in 1916 as the Minister of Mines, serving in that capacity until 1920.
J. D. McDonald
John Dingwall McDonald (1874-1944) was the General Superintendent of West Kootenay Power & Light. Born in Woodstock, Ontario, McDonald received a position at WKPL in 1898 and worked for the company until his retirement in 1942. During his time at WKPL, McDonald was instrumental in some of the company’s biggest projects, such as the construction of the hydro-electric plants. Upon his death in 1944, McDonald’s longtime colleague, Lorne Campbell, told the Rossland Miner that “[McDonald] had been intimately associated with power development of the Kootenay River since its inception . . . his death severs a link with the pioneer days.”
McDonald’s son, John David “Jack” McDonald, was one of Rossland’s early historians and founders of the Rossland Historical Museum. The Museum’s J.D. McDonald Hall is named after “Jack.”
The Packard Truck
The Packard Truck seen on the grounds of the Rossland Museum & Discovery Centre was donated by the West Kootenay Power & Light Company in 1976. WKPL bought the truck in 1917 and used it for multiple purposes up until its donation to the museum. The Packard truck was a product of the early twentieth century. Capable of carrying great weights over less than ideal road conditions, Packard trucks were even used by the U.S. during World War I.
Impacts on Indigenous Communities
While hydroelectricity has been integral to the development of today’s communities in the West Kootenays, their impact on the indigenous communities of the area, including significantly the Sinixt Nation, must be noted.
The construction of the company’s dams in the West Kootenays is one of the main reasons for the displacement of the Sinixt peoples, who had permanent communities in southern British Columbia and Northern Washington state. With the introduction of prospectors, mines, and boomtowns, intolerance for Indigenous peoples grew, making settlements near these boomtowns less feasible. Moreover, the extensive damming of the Kootenay River among other rivers changed the local environment. For example, they notably destroyed many Kokanee Salmon runs in use by the Sinixt. Since the early 1900s, The Sinixt peoples increasingly utilized their southern reaches of territory in Washington State over those in B.C. This resulted in less permanent Sinixt settlements north of the border. Around the time the Canadian government declared the Sinixt Nation extinct in 1956, over 250 Sinixt people were listed on the census for the Colville reservation.
Moreover, a vast amount of important cultural Sinixt sites were destroyed by the flooding caused by dam building, with a notably large impact on burial sites. In Canada, only a few Sinixt grave sites remain undamaged by the dams, located in the South Slocan and in Vallican. This area in general remains the final small pocket of undisturbed Sinixt territory within B.C.
In 1956, due to what they claimed was a lack of tangible heritage sites and physical presence, the Canadian government declared the Sinixt Nation extinct, a completely false statement. Furthermore, despite numerous indigenous groups existing within the Columbia Basin, notably the Sinixt, Sepwepemc, Kutenai, and Okanagan Nation Alliance, it took until 2019 for any of these groups to gain any recognition within the Columbia River Treaty. They now hold observer status.
Despite the struggles that dimensioned the preservation of the Sinixt’s cultural heritage and decreased their physical presence, it is important to recognize that they are still here. The Nation still exists and should be acknowledged by the federal government for not only their historical presence, but for their ongoing existence within the region.
The Sinixt territory is shown on this map (zoom in or click full screen for further detail).
For more information on the history and resurgence of the Sinixt and the Autonomous Sinixt, please visit Sinixt.org
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