St. Leon, formerly known as Leon and also known as St. Leon Hot Springs because of a mineral spring located nearby, is an unincorporated settlement and former hot springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...

 resort and steamboat landing on the east side of Upper Arrow Lake in the Kootenay Country of 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...

, located at the mouth of St. Leon Creek, between Nakusp (S) and Halcyon Hot Springs (N) (another former spa/resort). The name of nearby Mount St. Leon is derived from that of the springs and settlement.

Name origin

According to one entry in the British Columbia Geographical Names Information System, the name is thought to have been conferred by an early hunter and trapper in the area, who had relatives in "St. Pol de Leon" (actually Saint-Pol-de-Léon

Saint-Pol-de-Léon

Saint-Pol-de-Léon is a commune in the Finistère department in Bretange in northwestern France, located on the coast.It is famous for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th century. It has kept a unique architecture, such as Notre-Dame du...

), Finistère

Finistère

Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, but another account says it was named for one of the many places named St. Leon in Quebec which also had a mineral spring.

History

The springs were first discovered and land in the area claimed by Michael M. Grady of Revelstoke in 1894 who built a small hotel, then rebuilt it in 1901 and again in 1906 (Grady Lake and Mount Grady in the same area are named for M.M. Grady). The resort was popular throughout the Kootenays and thrived from being a port-of-call on the Arrow Lakes steamboat

Steamboats of the Arrow Lakes

The era of steamboats on the Arrow Lakes and adjoining reaches of the Columbia River is long-gone but was an important part of the history of the West Kootenay and Columbia Country regions of British Columbia. The Arrow Lakes are formed by the Columbia River in southeastern British Columbia...

 route, which connected with railway lines at Castlegar

Castlegar, British Columbia

Castlegar is the second largest city in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada. It is located within the Selkirk Mountains at the confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers. It is a regional trade and transportation centre, with a local economy fueled by forestry, mining and tourism...

 and Revelstoke

Revelstoke, British Columbia

Revelstoke is a city in southeastern British Columbia, Canada. It is located east of Vancouver, and west of Calgary, Alberta. The city is situated on the banks of the Columbia River just south of the Revelstoke Dam and near its confluence with the Illecillewaet River...

.

Due to the economic downturn in the first year of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Grady closed the hotel and disconnected its supply of hot water from the springs. Citizens of Revelstoke appealed to him to create a townsite out of his original alienation of 320 acres (1.3 km²) so they could build campsites and cottages for their own private use, which he did in 1918, with 10 cottages being erected soon after.

The settlement was inundated, and its name rescinded, following the raising of the level of the Arrow Lakes by the Keenlyside Dam at Castlegar.