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 Early Mining History - Ymir, BC Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 49° 17.000 W 117° 12.859
11U E 484413 N 5458975
In the campground/rest area on Ymir's main street are several history signs, photographs and murals outlining the history of Ymir. This one deals primarily with the very early days of mining in the Ymir area.
Waymark Code: WMNH6N
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 03/16/2015
Views: 1
EARLY MINING HISTORY
As the gold rush was slowing on the Pend d'Oreille and the miners were moving north, gold was discovered in the area surrounding Quartz Creek. Jerome and Joseph Pitre and Oliver Blair struck it rich in the mountains around 1895. They staked the first claims of what was to become the Ymir Mine. They travelled back to their hometown of Colville where the word of their discovery soon spread. In the following years many more claims were staked in the area.
With the completion of the railroad and the staking of the mines, Ymir really blossomed as a major mining community. The Ymir mine started out as a forty stamp mill and later added another forty stamps making it the largest stamp mill in the British Empire.
Many more miners came to the area after the railroad was put in and by 1897, the booming town of Ymir had eleven hotels, a bank, post office, church, public school offering grades 1-10, newspaper (The Ymir Miner), police station with a jail, blacksmith shop, mine recording office, mining engineer and assayer, mining broker, notary public, barber, plumber, physician and surgeon, two hardware stores and a P. Burns & Co butcher shop.
The Ymir Waterworks was established in 1897 and was headed by J. W.Ross. The population of Ymir in 1897 was 800 with another 400 living and working in the surrounding mines. As well as mining, many men were employed in logging and in the sawmills. By 1904, Ymir had 1100 residents. Late in October of that year, a massive fire broke out and many buildings and homes burnt to the ground. After depletion of the ore Ymir fell on hard times, except for the war years, 1914 to 1918, when demand for precious minerals increased. When W.W. II began, many young miners left to fight in the war and Ymir's population bottomed out at 125 people. However, mining is not necessarily finished in this area and there are no doubt still minerals to be found in the mountains surrounding Ymir including gold, silver, lead, zinc and tungsten. Unfortunately though, Ymir will probably never be the prosperous mining town that it once was and the minerals may remain hidden forever.
From the Plaque
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Group that erected the marker: Village of Ymir
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
First Avenue & Fir Street
Ymir, BC Canada
V0G 2K0
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