I devoted an earlier post to West Kootenay sites associated with hockey’s Patrick family, including the Crescent Valley beach, where the family sawmill once stood.
The BC government has now installed a stop of interest sign there, seen below.
The sign is a nice addition to the beach, which the Nasmyth family donated to the Regional District of Central Kootenay a few years ago. The RDCK has since added washrooms, a covered picnic area, parking lot, and cleared paths to the mill’s ruins.
The sign is one of about 70 around the province that have been installed in the last year or are in the process of being installed. They are in the same style as signs originally created between 1958 and 1971. Older ones in our area denote various mines and mining rushes at Sandon, Rossland, Riondel and Rock Creek, as well as West Kootenay Power’s dams on the Kootenay River, the Greenwood smelter, the Kettle Valley Railway at Midway, and the Dewdney Trail south of Rossland.
There’s also one honoring the Doukhobors on Highway 3 at a pullout between Grand Forks and Christina Lake.
UPDATE: The sign was officially unveiled on Jan. 14, 2019.
From left, Slocan Valley regional director Walter Popoff, Castlegar mayor Bruno Tassone, Kootenay West MLA Katrine Conroy, and Slocan mayor Jessica Lunn.