The Village of Slocan has a colourful past. With the loss of so many of the buildings that would highlight the history of the community, our challenge was to recognise and honour the past without the physical buildings of yesteryear. This tour is about the beginnings of our community and the significant developments along the way. It about the people who built and re-built the community. It’s about resilience and determination. This is a tour of what can no longer be seen, but is the story of the Village of Slocan.
TAKE THE ONLINE TOUR OF SLOCAN’S HISTORIC SITES
History Walk Guidebook
Acknowledgements
In 2013, an opportunity to fund an historic walking tour came through artsVest, a signature program of Business for the Arts in partnership with Columbia Basin Trust. The Slocan Valley Historical Society participated in this program locally and developed partnerships with local businesses and corporations to raise just under $10,000 for the project. This was not enough to realize the vision and plans stalled until early 2017. After a successful grant application with BC|Canada 150 and a partnership with the Village of Slocan, the gears started working again. Funding through Columbia Basin Trust small grants program and a grant through Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance topped up our available funds to see the completion of Slocan’s History Walk.
This project would not have been possible without our supporters. We are grateful to:
Our Community
Kootenay-Slocan Lions Club
Kalesnikoff Lumber
Ian Fraser & Associates
Shauna Fidler – r|brand
Village of Slocan staff
And the many, many people who contributed their photos and stories. It took the whole village …
Our Archives
The Slocan Valley Archives provided much of the information that was used for this project. For more than 50 years Innes Cooper with the assistance of Peter Watson and Greg Nesteroff, collected information, photographs and memorabilia relating to Slocan’s early years. In 2013 Mr Cooper donated his vast collection to the Village of Slocan. This was the foundation of the Slocan Valley Archives.
