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In 1890 the discovery of gold/copper ore on the
face of Red Mountain by Joe Moris and Joe Bourgeois
was the single most important event in the history
of Trail and the Trail/Rossland area. The five
claims staked by Moris and Bourgeois on Red Mountain
in July of that year led to the rise of Rossland
as the premier mining center in North America
and the birth of the settlement we now call the
City of Trail.
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four of the five claims could be recorded
at the Nelson Mine Recorder's Office. The
deputy mining recorder, Eugene Sayre Topping,
agreed to pay the recording fees for the claims
in return for ownership of the fifth claim.
Topping and his friend, Frank Hanna, then
purchased 343 acres at the mouth of Trail
Creek on the Columbia River, hoping the claims
on the neighbouring Red Mountain would be
developed into paying mines, and make them
wealthy through the sale of town lots. Their
hopes became a reality in 1895. The Rossland
mines proved to be very rich in gold/copper
ore and the lots in the Trail Creek townsite
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In 1895 Topping provided land to F.A. Heinze
of Butte, Montana to build a smelter to
treat the Rossland ores. The smelter was
purchased by the C.P.R. in 1898 and expanded
its production to include lead ores. Despite
the difficult economic times, the smelter
succeeded.
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With the success of the smelter, the small
town of Trail grew. On June 14th, 1901 the
City of Trail was incorporated. The townspeople
celebrated the historic event and what seemed
to be a promising future on July 1st. In
1906 the smelter, the War Eagle, Centre
Star, and St. Eugene mines, along with the
Rossland Power Company were amalgamated
to form the Consolidated Mining and Smelting
Company of Canada Limited (CM&S). Under
the direction of Walter H. Aldridge, the
CM&S solidified the smelter operations.
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| As the smelter stabilized, the
town prospered and the city council concentrated
on providing improved civic services. In 1912
a new brick school was built, and a bridge
was constructed across the Columbia River.
Trail Creek, running through the town, was
culverted and the gully filled with smelter
slag, doubling the building area of the downtown
area. The Trail Fall Fair Building/Rink was
built on Bay Avenue in 1911. Gradually improvements
to the smelter increased production and employment
in Trail. |
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As World War I approached, an end of an era was
near. In 1911 Aldridge left Trail for Thompson,
Nevada, and in 1914 Heinze died in New York, in
financial ruin. The CM&S purchased the Sullivan
Mine in Kimberley in 1910, and the smelter began
to rely primarily on lead/zinc ores for its livelihood.
World War I increased the demand for lead and
zinc and the CM&S realized the need to develop
a better means to treat zinc ores. Ralph W. Diamond
was hired to develop a process to treat the rich
lead/zinc ores of the Sullivan Mine. His research
led to a breakthrough in treating zinc ore with
the development of the zinc electrolytic refining
process. In 1917 labor unrest developed at the
smelter and consummated with a general strike
lasting 36 days. As well, in 1918, the community
was hit hard by an influenza epidemic that swept
through the province.
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In the 1920s, under the direction of
S.G. Blaylock, the CM&S expanded its
Trail operations and increased its production
of lead and zinc. With expansion of the
smelter operations, the city prospered.
The population increased as the demand
for workers at the smelter grew.
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Civic improvements were undertaken, including:
in 1926 the installation of concrete paved
roads in the downtown area (the first
in the interior of British Columbia),
expansion of schools, construction of
a new hospital on Victoria Street in 1926,
development of the Violin Lake Waterworks
in 1919, and construction of large brick
commercial buildings such as: the Memorial
Hall, the Knights of Pythias Hall, Crown
Point Hotel, Merchantile Store, the Company
Store and City Hall.
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Social activities flourished with the production
of plays and musicals; bands, orchestras and
choirs were formed, sporting activities increased,
and CJAT radio was established.
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In the 1930s the CM&S constructed
a chemical fertilizer plant in Warfield
to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions in
the valley. Zinc and lead production steadily
increased. Exploration for new mines in
the Northwest Territories led the CM&S
to become pioneers in aviation exploration,
which led to the Columbia Gardens Airport
being constructed. A dairy was also established
by the CM&S in Warfield, which provided
milk to the townspeople.
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The city expanded to the east side of
the river. Tadanac was incorporated as
a separate municipality in 1922. The residential
area of Warfield was developed with the
assistance of the CM&S. However, the
Depression resulted in the curtailment
of production and a reduction in wages.
The government established make-work projects
such as the Esplanade river wall and the
highway to Castlegar to help displaced
workers. Smelter employees cooperated
by participating in work-sharing programmes.
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The CM&S supported its employees with the
establishment of hospital and medical insurance
plans, sickness and benefit plans, house mortgages,
and financial contributions to major civic projects.
During World War II, production at the smelter
was increased to assist with the war effort.
The West Kootenay Power Plants on the Kootenay
River were expanded and CM&S participated
in the development of the atom bomb. On May
8, 1945, Blaylock died and Diamond assumed management
of the smelter operations. With the end of World
War II, another era in Trail's history had come
to an end.
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The city entered a period of post-war
expansion with the development of residential
areas of Sunningdale, Glenmerry, Shavers
Bench, and the establishment of Warfield,
Montrose, and Fruitvale as bedroom communities
to Trail. The Trail smelter had grown
to become the largest lead/zinc smelter
in the world and Trail was the fourth
largest city in British Columbia.
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The city of Trail had become a lasting legacy
to the modest visions of E.S. Topping and Frank
Hanna in 1890.
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