Tag Archives: Purcell Mountains

Red Line

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Red Line Peak, Red Line Creek (flowing into McDonald Creek)

Associated Names: Named after the Red Line group of mines at the head of the creek. The Red Line (1898-c.1902) was also known as the McDonald Mines (1902), the Ptarmigan Mines (1903-1920s), and Selkirk Ptarmigan Mines Ltd (1958-1964?)

“There is no doubt that the mine will never be reopened again, and there is also no doubt that a great deal more money was spent on the property than ever its showing of ore warranted.” (Report to the Minister of Mines, 1915)

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Horsethief

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Horsethief Creek (flows into Columbia River just below Invermere), Horsethief Falls

Other Names: No 1 Creek, Horse Thief Creek

“Jim considered the proposal with drunken gravity and when I mentioned that there was still a bottle of whiskey… he handed Kelly over on my promise that I would lock him up. I had to keep my hands on him until inside the government buildings and then the old brute abused me like a pickpocket. I’ll never forget the figure of fun he made, sitting behind his desk with a muzzle-loading Colt revolver in each hand.”

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Bunyan

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Bunyan Lake, Located at the base of Castle Rock, near Invermere

The Bunyan mining claim was located on the shoulder of a bluff about 300 feet above the bench lands below, and in 1920 it was decided that the best way to access the ore was to blow off the shoulder with one massive blast and turn the mine into something more resembling an open quarry.

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Nelson

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Mount Nelson, Invermere area

This prominent peak was the first mountain in the Windermere Valley to be named by a European. It was then renamed, renamed, and renamed again before the powers that be finally decided to return back to that first European name: after a heroic British naval commander who was also known for an extended affair with another woman while both were married.

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Vowell

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Vowell Creek, Vowell Peak, Vowell Glacier

It is ironic, perhaps, that a man who had such a troubled relationship with the isolation of British Columbia now has a creek, a mountain, and a glacier named after him in one of the more isolated parts of the province.

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Farnham

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Mount Farnham, Farnham Tower, Farnham Creek, Paulding Creek

George Paulding Farnham was an American jewellery designer and sculptor who worked for Tiffany & Co from the 1880s until 1908, including as head jewellery designer from 1891. His designs won multiple international awards and established Tiffany’s reputation as a world class jewellery house while pushing American jewellery design in entirely new directions.

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Gwendoline

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Gwendoline Mountain, between Stockdale and Forster Creeks

The steamboat Gwendoline was merely a visitor to the Windermere Valley, having passed through only twice: once on her way up to Golden, and once going back down to the Kootenay River. Nonetheless, she does hold the title for being one of only two steamboats to successfully pass through the canal at Canal Flats.

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