Payne Mountain and the Big Boulder: First Strikes of the Slocan Silver Rush

In September of 1891, persistence paid off for prospectors Eli Carpenter and J.L. “Jack” Seaton, who had spent months scanning the ground west of Kootenay Lake for signs of galena (silver-lead) ore. At the top of a mountain near the headwaters of Slocan Creek, about 40 kilometres from the present-day lakeshore town of Kaslo, Carpenter and Seaton finally saw the ore’s signature sparkle. Their samples were assayed in Ainsworth, south of Kaslo, and their joint “Payne Claim” was recorded on September 22, 1891.

Among the hundreds of silver-seekers that flooded the region following the Payne discovery was the novice prospector, J. W. Cockle. Early in the summer following Carpenter and Seaton’s lucky strike, Cockle was cutting a pole from the top of high ground in Sandon Creek when his axe slipped, shearing off a chunk of the rock beneath his feet. Cockle and his partner instantly recognized the sparkle of galena ore, and began to clear away the mud that surrounded the rock. To their astonishment, they gradually uncovered a gigantic boulder. A photograph of the 2 men standing beside the enormous nugget of galena ore soon appeared in newspapers across North America, and the surge of prospecting activity that had followed the Payne discovery quickly became a stampede.

Ironically, the founders of the Kootenay mining boom – an area that soon became known as the “Silvery Slocan” - derived little benefit from their discoveries. Eli Carpenter sold his shares in the Payne Mountain claim for a fraction of their worth. For a brief period, he operated a pack train in the area, and ran a hotel in nearby Three Forks, but is said to have left for the goldfields of the Klondike in 1897, where he died the following year. Jack Seaton, who also sold out early in the boom, took his slim profits back to his native Tennesee, where he died in 1894. J.W. Cockle and his partner were thrilled to receive $2,000 for their boulder, but their purchasers were even more elated – the famous chunk of ore was later valued at $20,000!

As the Kootenay mining industry picked up steam, the Slocan strikes brought wealth to many. Legendary mines such as the Slocan Star, Payne Boy and the Noble Five attracted thousands of fortune-seekers. At the height of the boom, in the early 1900’s, over 300 mines operated in the town of Sandon alone. In the early 1900’s, the original Payne Mine was British Columbia’s highest divided-paying business, producing over 1 million ounces (more than 28 million grams) of silver-lead a year. Since 1892, Slocan mines have produced over $35 billion of silver, lead and zinc – more than the value of the California, Cariboo and Klondike gold rushes combined.

The Slocan discoveries spawned 2 competing railroads – the Great Northern’s narrow-gauge Kaslo & Slocan Railway, from Kaslo to the headwaters of the Kaslo River, and the Canadian Pacific Railway’s Naskup & Slocan Railway, extending south from the main CPR line at Revelstoke to the Three Forks area near Payne Mountain.

The mining boom also brought prosperity to the lakeside town of Kaslo, situated on the western shore of the Kootenay’s North Arm. Logging entrepreneurs G. O. Buchanan and George and David Kane, who had staked timber claims in the area just 2 years before the silver rush, quickly seized the opportunity to subdivide part of their land into town lots. By 1893, Kaslo’s population had swelled to 3,000, and the bustling community had become the first formally incorporated city on Kootenay Lake.

Take a Kootenay Mining Heritage Tour

Set aside at least 2 days for your Silvery Slocan Heritage Tour, a 323 kilometre drive through Kootenay Lake’s historic mining communities. Highlights include:

• The Nelson Mining Museum (Chamber of Mines of Eastern British Columbia), located in the city of Nelson, on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake features thousands of rock, gem and mine core specimens from the West Kootenays and British Columbia. An extensive collection of books, mining publications and maps, both new and old, are available for public use. The facility is open year-round – check for daily and seasonal hours. (Note: The Nelson and District Museum, which also features displays of the area’s mining heritage, was damaged by fire in May of 2003; check the current status of the Museum’s operation.)

• The Silver Ledge Hotel Museum, located in Ainsworth Hot Springs, between Nelson and Kaslo was once the only hotel in the area to feature hot running water (courtesy of the nearby hot springs). This 1890’s structure has been restored to reflect its mining boom heyday. Summer operation – check for limited hours.

• The Woodbury Mining Museum, located just north of Ainsworth Hot Springs, features mining regalia and an underground tour of a lead, zinc and silver mine.

• The “Valley of the Ghosts,” on Highway 31A from Kaslo to New Denver, runs through the heart of the Silver Slocan mining district. View remnants of the Iron Hand Mine, about 25 kilometres west of Kaslo, and the top-producing Bell’s Camp/Whitewater/Retallack mines, about 27 kilometres west of Kaslo. Take time to explore the ghost town of Sandon, once a city of 5,000, now maintained by the Sandon Historical Society. The site features the Sandon Visitors’ Centre, the acclaimed Sandon Mining Centre museum, and several restored buildings. (Learn about Sandon’s unique solution to overcrowding: a wooden street built on top of Carpenter Creek.) Daily summer operation.

• The Silvery Slocan Museum in New Denver, depicts aspects of early life in the area. Summer/fall operation, check for weekday/weekend hours.

• The Silverton Outdoor Mining Museum in Silverton, just south of New Denver, features vintage mining machinery, salvaged from abandoned mine sites at Silverton Creek and Sandon.