Grand Forks Mining & Agriculture - Grand Forks, BC
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T0SHEA
N 49° 00.105 W 118° 31.950
11U E 387914 N 5428781
This heritage marker is at a pullout on the hill west of the City of Grand Forks.
Waymark Code: WMH0WW
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 05/03/2013
Views: 5
The pullout for this marker starts on the south side of the highway, immediately east of Sleepy Hollow Road on Highway 3, at the most southerly point in the curve around the hill you're either climbing (going west) or descending (headed east).
The marker relates a slice of the agricultural and industrial history of the valley. This valley has had more than one alias, to wit: Valley of Fruit and the Sunshine Valley.
Text from the plaque:
"Though agricultural potential was noted by early fur traders, it was mining that stimulated the incorporation of Grand Forks in 1897. Within three years the huge Granby smelter was 'blown in', soon becoming the largest non-ferrous copper smelter in the British Empire.
Three rail lines serviced the town: the Columbia & Western; Vancouver, Victoria & Eastern; and Kettle River Valley railways. Eventually, farmers of various backgrounds took up land, including resourceful Russian Doukhobors who arrived in 1909, transforming the area below into Fructova, or 'Valley of Fruit'.
Today the railways are gone and the copper smelter is closed, but the elegance and memories of Grand Forks' past endure."
Type of Marker: Cultural
Type of Sign: Historic Site or Building Marker
Describe the parking that is available nearby: Adequately sized pullout
What Agency placed the marker?: Province of British Columbia
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