Boundary Falls in Kootenay Boundary, British Columbia — Canada’s West Coast (North America)

Boundary Falls Smelter

B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), November 15, 2016

1. Boundary Falls Smelter Marker

Inscription.
Although prospectors like "Jolly Jack” Thorton worked this area during the 1860s, Boundary Falls was not settled until the 1890s, when a new breed of miners flooded the district. Surrounded by mining properties, the Boundary Falls Smelter (also called the "Sunset Smelter") was built by 1901 and it was 'blown in' by June of 1902. Setbacks such as high operating costs, coke shortages, financial difficulties, and low copper prices eventually took their toll. By 1907 the smelter was permanently closed, and the facility and the camp of Boundary Falls passed into oblivion. Today, only slag piles remain as mute testament to the former existence of this short-lived smelter.

Caption: The Sunset Smelter at Boundary Falls. Greenwood Museum photo

Erected by Province of British Columbia.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1901.

Location. 49° 2.362′ N, 118° 42.271′ W. Marker is in Boundary Falls, British Columbia, in Kootenay Boundary. It is at the intersection of Crowsnest Highway (Provincial Highway 3)

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and Boundary Smelter Road, on the right when traveling east on Crowsnest Highway. Marker is on a frontage road along the eastbound side. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Boundary Falls BC V0H 1M0, Canada. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the BC Interior

and in the Kootenay Rockies.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Rocky Mountains,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once a British colony.

Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 19 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Copper Street (approx. 4.6 kilometers away); Greenwood Smelter (approx. 4.7 kilometers away); Midway (approx. 6.4 kilometers away); Ranald MacDonald (approx. 12.2 kilometers away in the U.S.); Eholt (approx. 17.2 kilometers away); Chief Joseph Tonasket (approx. 18.2 kilometers away in the U.S.).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Kettle Valley Railroad (was approx. 6.7 kilometers away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).

Also see . . . Boundary Falls, B.C. Sunset Smelter.

The Sunset Smelter image. Click for full size.

B.C. Department of Mines via B.C. Archives I-55689 (public domain), circa 1905

2. The Sunset Smelter

The Standard Pyritic Smelting Co. built the furnace but, struggling financially, sold it to Montreal & Boston Copper Co. Ltd. just before the smelter was "blown in" in June 1902.

In-depth history of the smelter and the companies that owned it. (Andrew Phillip Chernoff blog, posted Aug. 8, 2013) (Submitted on February 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 804 times since then and 78 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 10, 2021, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 2. submitted on February 24, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

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