Valley of the Ghosts – Sandon, B.C.

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Nestled high in the mountains of the Selkirk Range in British Columbia and found just east of the small town of New Denver on the shores of Slocan Lake, lies the ‘Valley of the Ghosts’. Centered around the once bustling silver mining town of Sandon, this valley of the ghosts tells a story as long as the legacy of those who colonized, then settled the frontiers of Canada – the story of boom towns.

First staked on September 9, 1891 by Eli Carpenter and Jack Seaton, who accidentally stumbled upon an outcrop of galena while trying to fix their bearings, this valley quickly became the site of a significant ‘Silver Rush’. The original partners had a falling out, which led to some intrigue and duplicity as they both assembled new partners to return to the valley and stake more claims. The rush was on.

Local prospectors started to head for this remote valley, intrigued by the prospect of a quick fortune. Two savvy investors, Bruce White and John Sandon, registered their intent to buy 160 acres in and around the confluence of what became known as the Sandon and Carpenter Creeks – essentially buying what became known as the Town of Sandon. Like all mineral ‘rushes’, news of the discovery of silver in the Selkirks spread rapidly, and attracted the attention of fortune seekers from around the world.

The onset of winter in late 1891 slowed the arrival of the wannabe fortune hunters, as this part of the mountains was famous for its heavy snow load. Come early 1892, though, a hard scrabble settlement, full of rough hewn log structures scattered about the narrow valley bottom, emerged from the forest. People flocked to Sandon, causing a population boom alongside the frantic economic boom of silver mining and the construction of the town. By 1897 the narrow main street of Reco was taking on a distinguished air.

Two butchers, several bakeries, a factory that made mattresses and pillows, ladies and gentleman’s clothing stores, stores that specialized in tobacco, books, magazines, furniture all struggled for space in the narrow confines of the valley. Even exotic produce like oysters in the interior of BC, strawberries at Christmas and imported ice cream were sold in town. In 1892 there was one hotel, by 1898 there were 29 – almost all of which housed saloons as well.

There were laundries and bath houses, barbers, dentists and doctors. There were at least two breweries in town, the Sandon and the New York breweries; as well as wholesale liquor and cigar merchants. The Sandon Bottling Works produced soda drinks for the local and regional market. In short – the discovery of silver in 1891 had led to the establishment of a town with more than 5,000 people in it in just a matter of years.

There was a tawdry side to town as well. Miners were renowned for making quick money, but were often quicker at spending it. A ‘red light’ district emerged in Sandon, housing brothels, billiard halls, more saloons and gambling halls. Local residents had a fairly cavalier attitude toward this seedier side of town, recognizing it as an inevitable, if not desirable part of a mining boom town.

Like most mining towns, the economy of Sandon fluctuated wildly over the years – booms were usually driven by high demand and prices; busts were caused by a drop in demand, declining profits due to increasing costs and plummeting prices for silver. At its peak, Sandon silver mines generated the equivalent of billions in revenue – but these peaks were fleeting in frequency and duration.

Nature provided challenges as well. The frenetic building that occurred in the 1890s stripped the surrounding hillsides bare of trees – increasing the number and scale of flooding in a town literally built over creeks. Like all pioneer towns, Sandon had a number of devastating fires – most significantly in May of 1900. This fire, which erupted suspiciously behind the Opera House, engulfed half the town in spite of some truly progressive fire protection measures adopted by the citizens of Sandon.

During World War II Sandon experienced a brief revitalization when it was used as a Japanese internment camp, becoming a footnote in a dark chapter in Canadian history. The remoteness of the site, plus the brutality of the winters, forced authorities to abandon Sandon in lieu of New Denver as a preferred site of internment of Japanese Canadian citizens.

Today there are a few remnants of the town of Sandon – some looking mostly abandoned, others being slowly restored by a few locals and still more being attended to be a tiny, but energetic local historical society. There is an excellent local museum in town, along with some very well-preserved samples of Sandon’s industrial past.

One truly memorable place is the Silversmith Power and Light Corporation – a small hydro generating plant that has been running continuously since 1897! Visitors can go on a short tour of this legacy of this innovative community, as well as wander around an impressive collection of old railway equipment.

(Fun Fact: In 1897, Nikola Tesla (didn’t someone name a car company after him?) spent three months installing one of his generators in Sandon. Today, the family-owned Silversmith Power and Light hydroelectric plant is still using the original 60-hertz generator made by Nikola Tesla in 1897. It is the only original Nikola Tesla power station still operating in the entire world.)

There are a number of interpretative plaques detailing some of the remaining buildings in town, permitting visitors to stroll at their leisure in this scenic spot. Another eccentric attraction in town is a collection of two dozen Brill trolleybuses that were shipped from Vancouver in the early 2000s. There were plans to make these a viable heritage site, as it is, they are just an interesting oddity in a town full of odd things. In the summer of 2024, there was a food cart selling light refreshments for those who are parched and hungry.

Sandon has become a bit of a mecca for those who have an interest in ghost towns, attracting around 40,000 people during the late spring to early fall, a stark contrast to the seven or so souls that will spend the winter living in town. I have been to Sandon on two occasions, and I would highly recommend this place for anyone who is road touring in British Columbia, and who wants to get a first-hand sense of what life was like in one of the many mine towns that were once scattered across Canada.

 

Note: Much of the background material and the historical photos for this article stem from the outstanding book on the local history of Sandon entitled Silver, Lead & Hell by Veronika Pellowski.

Welcome to Sandon, BC website

Sandon Historical Society Museum

Sandon Historical Society

Sandon Historical Society and Sandon Museum