![]() It is worth taking a moment to appreciate how the springs looked in these early years, particularly given the extensive development of the site since then. 13 By 1905 the “hotel” was nothing more extensive than a cedar log house, and the bathing place a ten by five yard gravel bottomed basin. 12 The same line appeared again in 1903 with the same result. In 1901 there was also a hope to put in a cement basin at the springs but, again, nothing came of it. 11 As noted in the post on Sinclair, access to the springs during these early settler years was via a trail from the McKay farm house up onto the bench and above Sinclair Canyon on the north side. 10 Two years later and the hotel had not appeared, but Stuart again suggested that the hotel was imminent if only the government would help to build a road up to the hot springs. In 1899 rumours emerged that Stuart intended to build a hotel on the site. In 1894, Lady Adela Cochrane was said to have purchased the springs from Stuart and his partner with the intention of building a Sanitarium and making it a “fashionable health resort.” 8 There is no evidence that this actually occurred (in 1899 Stuart was still the owner). The new owner of the springs, Roland Stuart, did very little to immediately develop the area, although sporadic rumours emerged. 7Īlthough Stuart was the first owner of the Springs recognized by the British Columbia government the land, like all land in the Windermere Valley, was never formally ceded by the Ktunaxa or Shuswap First Nations. 6 It also seems that Stuart had a partner in the purchase (and at various times during the next decades), but to keep things simple I will keep Stuart as the principle owner. 5 Stuart later claimed to have applied to purchase the land in 1888, but no official record confirming that date has been found. Notice of that purchase was lodged with the Lands and Works Department on 3 April 1890. The hot springs had verifiability come to the attention of settlers by July 1889, when Gilzean Roland Whateley Stuart (usually just Roland Stuart) made an application to purchase the land containing the springs (Lot 149, 160 acres). 4 As the McKay ranch was located just a few miles from the hot springs site, this scenario makes sense. According to Hallie I Peake (née McKay), her father, John McKay, “had observed that the Indians who came by his place often had sick persons with them, and that when he asked them why, they told him about the Springs.” 3 The obituary of John’s son, James Lorenzo McKay, dates this “discovery” as occurring in 1887. We have to rely on second-hand accounts in order to determine how settlers learned about the presence of the hot springs. 2 As the waters of Radium Hot Springs are odourless, it is reasonable to assume that groups could pass the springs without being aware of their presence. ![]() 1 Geologist George Dawson, in his thorough 1885 report on the geology of the Rocky Mountains, also notes the Fairmont Springs but not the springs in Sinclair Canyon. Lees and Walter Clutterbuck (1887) make no reference at all to the springs, despite both parties passing very close to them, and both also making particular note of the hot springs at Fairmont. ![]() Early settlers travelling through the area, including George Simpson (1841) and J.A. The early history of the hot springs is somewhat difficult to pin down. For more on the name Sinclair and other features with the same name, refer to last week’s post on James Sinclair. The hot springs themselves were originally known by settlers as Sinclair Hot Springs, with the name “Sinclair” also being used to refer to the settlement in the vicinity of the springs. The village of Radium Hot Springs takes its name, rather obviously, from the name given to the natural hot springs located nearby. This is the first of two posts on the history of Radium Hot Springs and how they got their name. ![]()
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