New Denver | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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New Denver

New Denver, British Columbia, incorporated as a village in 1929, population 473 (2016 census), 504 (2011 census). The village of New Denver is located near the northeastern end of Slocan Lake, 100 km north of Nelson. The site was first called Eldorado, then New Denver (1892), after Denver, Colorado.

Settlement

In 1891, Eli Carpenter, a tightrope walker turned prospector, along with American Jack Seaton, staked a claim on Mount Payne, east of present-day New Denver. The claim began the silver-mining rush that led to the establishment of New Denver, Slocan and Silverton.

Development

New Denver was an early service centre for mines and the nearby towns of Three Forks, Sandon, Cody, Silverton and Slocan. Mining declined after the First World War. During Second World War, 1,505 Japanese Canadians were relocated to an internment camp in New Denver. After the war, Japanese from other internment camps moved here, and small-scale mining was supplemented by logging.

Economy

Valhalla Provincial Park (1983) and the National Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre, together with the magnificent scenery and surrounding ghost towns, make New Denver a tourist centre.