Ainsworth, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Ainsworth or Ainsworth Hot Springs is a historic village on Kootenay Lake
Kootenay Lake
Kootenay Lake is a lake located in British Columbia, Canada and is part of theKootenay River. The lake has been raised by the Corra Linn Dam and has a dike system at the southern end, which, along with industry in the 1950s-70s, has changed the ecosystem in and around the water...
in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and has a population of 50.
Founded on May 31, 1883, it is the oldest surviving community on Kootenay Lake.
Ainsworth is located on Highway 31, 11 miles (17.7 km) north of Balfour
Balfour, British Columbia
Balfour, also known as Balfour Bay, is an unincorporated community in British Columbia, located about northeast of the city of Nelson and located at the juncture of Kootenay Lake with its West Arm....
and 12 miles (19.3 km) south of Kaslo, British Columbia
Kaslo, British Columbia
Kaslo is a village in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada, located on the west shore of Kootenay Lake. Known for its great natural beauty, it is a member municipality of the Central Kootenay Regional District...
.
Today, Ainsworth Hot Springs and the Cody Caves
Cody Caves
The Cody Caves are a network of limestone caves in the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia, Canada. They are located north of Ainsworth Hot Springs on the west side of Kootenay Lake....
are a popular destination for tourists and spelunkers.
History
The founder of Ainsworth was George AinsworthGeorge Ainsworth
George Frederick Ainsworth was an Australian meteorologist, public servant and businessman who headed one of the component parts of Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition .-Early years:...
, a steamboat captain who, with his father John, had already made a fortune operating sternwheelers on the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
. On May 31, 1883, George Ainsworth received a Crown Grant of 166 acres (67 ha) at what was originally Hot Springs Camp. He named the land Ainsworth in honour of his family. Upon hearing of the discoveries of silver-lead
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
in the Kootenays
Kootenays
The Kootenay Region comprises the southeastern portion of British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Ktunaxa First Nation first encountered by explorer David Thompson.-Boundaries:The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay Land...
, the brothers had travelled to British Columbia from Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
via Bonners Ferry.
From 1884, the mountains above Ainsworth were alive with mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
activity and prospectors had staked nearly every inch of ground from the townsite to the glacial summits. By 1889, several mines were in operation - such as Number One, Skyline, Little Donald and Krao. Among the prospectors was roadbuilder Gustavus Blin Wright
Gustavus Blin Wright
Gustavus Blin Wright was a pioneer roadbuilder and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. His biggest achievement was building the Old Cariboo Road to the Cariboo gold fields, from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria, but he was also a partner in a freighting firm that operated on the Douglas Road, he...
, who had built part of the Old Cariboo Road
Old Cariboo Road
The Old Cariboo Road is a reference to the original wagon road to the Cariboo gold fields in what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia...
. However, like many others, Wright would have no luck. Then in 1891, Eli Carpenter and John Seaton left Ainsworth for their mining claims, but returned after several futile weeks of searching. They returned to town by a route that took them over Payne Mountain, where they discovered ore samples worth CN$
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
170 to $240 a ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
. Carpenter's and Seaton's discoveries would be the catalyst for the Slocan Silver Rush and the region would become known as the "Silvery Slocan".
The town of Ainsworth prospered during this period and Gold Commissioner
Gold Commissioner
Gold Commissioner was an important regional administrative post in the Colony of British Columbia.In the 1860s, Governor Douglas had three priorities to protect the two colonies he governed: to protect the boundaries, to uphold law and order and to provide access to the gold fields...
, Henry Anderson petitioned the government for a wagon road from the town to the mines and for a wharf. Both were built in 1889 and in 1891, the town was visited by the new sternwheeler Nelson, the first sternwheeler built to provide service for the communities on Kootenay Lake.
Meanwhile, the town of Ainsworth continued to boom and the saloons and brothels prospered. One of the best known hotels in town was the Olson Hotel, built by Charles Olson, who had paddled up to the area on a raft in 1883. He built the hotel when he was 21 and kept it until his death in 1926. The Olson Hotel's most unusual feature was its two story outhouse
Outhouse
An outhouse is a small structure separate from a main building which often contained a simple toilet and may possibly also be used for housing animals and storage.- Terminology :...
. The upper floor could be reached from the rooms in the second story of the hotel, while the ground floor was for patrons entering from the hotel's grounds. The toilets were bowls with lids on top, which the proprietor's wife kept from freezing in the winter by heating them with coal oil
Coal oil
Coal oil is a term once used for a specific shale oil used for illuminating purposes. Coal oil is obtained from the destructive distillation of cannel coal, mineral wax, and bituminous shale, while kerosene is obtained by the distillation of petroleum...
lamps.
By 1893, Ainsworth began to fall into a decline, while Kaslo
Kaslo, British Columbia
Kaslo is a village in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada, located on the west shore of Kootenay Lake. Known for its great natural beauty, it is a member municipality of the Central Kootenay Regional District...
became the terminus for the Kaslo and Slocan Railway
Kaslo and Slocan Railway
The Kaslo and Slocan Railway was a narrow gauge gauge railway between Kaslo, Slocan, and the mining community of Sandon in the Kootenay region of British Columbia between 1895 and 1955 totalling about of track...
and thus was the supply center of Kootenay Lake.
Fire was a constant hazard in these pioneer communities and on April 26, 1896 much of Ainsworth was destroyed. The fire brigade saved the Green Brothers store and several houses, but the fire burned down thirteen hotels including Olson's. Rebuilding started immediately and most of the hotels were rebuilt. The Deering even boasted a swimming pool in its basement. Still, Ainsworth suffered in its isolation, having no roads until 1914 and not having electrical service until 1928. For many years, there was no hospital and the town's medical needs were provided by the local veterinarian
Veterinarian
A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....
, Dr. Henry.
Ainsworth continued on in the early years of the century. The Highland Boy and the No. 1 mine provided employment. Adjoining mines at Kaslo, Coffee Creek and the Molly Gibson made Ainsworth a supply point. Mining continued at Ainsworth nearly continuously until 1953. Ainsworth was never exceed the fame of the nearby Slocan district, particularly, Sandon.
The Olson Hotel was torn down in 1960, but his family name is honoured by Mount Olson in the Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park
Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park
Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is one of the oldest provincial parks in British Columbia, established in 1922. The park has an area of and is located in the Selkirk Mountains in the West Kootenays region of BC...
.
Another pioneer hotel, McKinnon House, survived and is now Silver Ledge.
Modern day
Ainsworth is now a popular tourist destination and home to the Ainsworth Hot Springs which originate in the Cody Caves area and are considered to be the best commercial hot springs in British Columbia. The temperatures vary from 40–42 °C (104–107.6 F) in the cave to 35–38 °C (95–100.4 F) in the pool.Attractions
- Cody Caves Provincial ParkCody Caves Provincial ParkCody Caves Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It was formed in July 1966 to protect the Cody Caves and was the first subterranean park in British Columbia. The park is 13 km by road, northwest from the hot springs community of Ainsworth on Kootenay Lake.-External...
on the eastern slopes of the Selkirk MountainsSelkirk MountainsThe Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...
are a system of ancient limestoneLimestoneLimestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
caves with an underground stream. - Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park offers fishing, canoeing and kayaking on more than 30 glacier lakes and 32035 hectares (79,160 acre) of wilderness with hiking and ski trails.
- 12 miles to the north is the village of Kaslo, home to two National historic sites including the SS MoyieMoyie (sternwheeler)The Moyie is a paddle steamer sternwheeler that worked on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada from 1898 until 1957.After her nearly sixty years of service, she was sold to the town of Kaslo and restored...
, the world's oldest intact sternwheeler. - Northwest of Ainsworth is the historic ghost townGhost townA ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
of SandonSandon, British ColumbiaSandon is a ghost town in British Columbia, Canada. It is also the birthplace of hockey Hall of Fame member Cecil "Tiny" Thompson.-Location:Sandon is located in the Selkirk Mountains, about ten kilometers east of the town of New Denver.-History:...
, the "Capital of the Silvery Slocan", once known as the "Monte Carlo of Canada". - 11 miles south is Balfour, where visitors can enjoy the longest free ferryFerryA ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
ride in the world, at the Kootenay Lake Ferry Crossing.