ONLY - Remaining Cedar Log Commuity Hall in Canada
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 49° 37.342 W 116° 47.385
11U E 515185 N 5496666
The Gray Creek Community Hall has been a gathering place for the community for over a century, serving the community as meeting hall, church and school.
Waymark Code: WMPVVQ
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 10/26/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 1
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Gray Creek is 13 kilometres south on Highway 3A from the Kootenay Bay Ferry terminal on the east side of Kootenay Lake. The Gray Creek Community Hall is adjacent to the lake, just south of the Gray Creek bridge. Built in the winter of 1912-13, the hall is the last log community hall still in use in Canada, according to the British Columbia Historical Federation.

THE GRAY CREEK HALL in Gray Creek on Kootenay Lake is the only original cedar log community hall in Canada. It is still used on a regular basis for live theatre, meetings and the Gray Creek Historical Society celebrate their week long Museum Days annually in the hall.
From the British Columbia Historical Federation

Below is the text from a heritage plaque, installed on the building by the Gray Creek Historical Society. Further below is some information on the hall, taken from the Gray Creek Historical Society Tour Guide, a small printed guide which may be obtained at the Gray Creek General Store. The store, incidentally, is owned and operated by the son of one of the area's pioneers who is also a historian who has written books on the area. He is probably the person most knowledgeable on the Gray Creek area and possibly the entire Kootenay Lake area.

This Hall was built by volunteers using hand hewn fire killed logs, on land deemed unusable for fruit growing. It served as schoolhouse from 1914 to 1944. In addition it was a church and social centre and was home to historic groups like the Porcupine Club, Nickel Swindle, and Hopalong Trio. To this day, the Hall remains the hub of the community and is carefully kept by volunteers. It is the only log hall of its era still in use.
Gray Creek Hall

Location: Just south of the bridge over Gray Creek, look for the Hall road sign lakeside. Look for two signs on the Hall exterior.
N49°37.295 W116°47.353.
Note: The Hall is rented on occasion to private and community user groups. Please respect their privacy.

This log community Hall was built in the winter of 1912/13 from hand-hewn fire-killed cedar logs, on land regarded as useless by the fruit ranching settlers. Useless then, priceless now - the land is a legacy for today's community that values the beach and the view. The Hall has changed very little in its lifetime; a kitchen was added in the late 1920's, the cloakroom, stage and storage room in 1958. The Hall has been integral to the life of this community since the beginning and is still in regular use today.

Gray Creek School ran from 1914 to 1944. Picture a typical school day in the Hall. Lake levels fluctuated 20 feet before the dams were built. High water was always an exciting event for the students - maybe school would be canceled! Once the school was closed for two weeks when lake water washed out the front footings. The rocky beach came right up to the lake side of the Hall, and during recess games such as 'Ante I Over', the players on the lake side had to contend with piles of driftwood to stumble over.

Former student Tom Lymbery [Gray Creek General Store owner] remembers watching the SS Nasookin through the school windows as it rounded Cape Horn into the bay on its thrice daily ferry run to Gray Creek from Fraser's Landing (Balfour). Another former student Johnny Oliver was paid 50 cents per month in the 1930s to light the woodstove and sweep the floor before school started. The blackboards are still mounted at the north end of the Hall.
Type of documentation of superlative status: British Columbia Historical Federation

Location of coordinates: At the site

Web Site: Not listed
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