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Winlaw is an unincorporated community adjacent to Winlaw Creek (commonly called Cedar Creek) on the east side of the Slocan River in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia.[1][2] The locality is on BC Highway 6 about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Slocan, and 49 kilometres (30 mi) north of Castlegar.
Winlaw | |
|---|---|
  Winlaw Location of Winlaw in British Columbia | |
| Coordinates: 49°36′59″N 117°34′04″W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  British Columbia |
| Region | Slocan Valley, West Kootenay |
| Regional district | Central Kootenay |
| Area code(s) | 250, 778, 236, & 672 |
| Highway |  Highway 6 |
Initially called Winlaws or Winlaw's Siding, John Brown Winlaw relocated his portable sawmill from Lemon Creek. The earliest mention of the place, which comprised little more than a boxcar for a section crew, was in 1900.[3]
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) added this Columbia and Kootenay Railway (C&K) siding to the timetable in 1902.[3] In February 1903, a brakeman sustained fatal injuries after falling under the wheels of a slowing passenger car.[4] Two months later, a mudslide some distance north pushed a passenger car and the track into the river.[5] A week later, two miles north of Winlaw, a loosened rail derailed four loaded freight cars of a mixed train, causing the fourth wreck in two weeks in that vicinity.[6] A year later, a succession of mudslides created a four-day closure[7] and initially took out 91 metres (300 ft) of track.[8] In 1905, a passenger train derailed.[9]
The erection of a section house in 1918[10] suggests a section crew was not permanently based prior to this time. In 1927, three railway cars derailed.[3]
The stop was 3.2 kilometres (2.0 mi) northeast of Lebahdo and 8.2 kilometres (5.1 mi) southwest of Perrys.[11]
The final passenger service was in 1959, and the line closed to all traffic in 1993.[12]
Winlaw lies on the Slocan Valley Rail Trail.
In 1900, the Winlaw sawmill began operations.[27] A 1904 fire destroyed thousands of dollars-worth of company logs.[28] Enhancements over the years[27] developed into a 13,716-metre (45,000 ft) daily capacity mill, employing about 40 workers, plus 50 loggers.[29] This was one of the few mills that operated through the winter.[30] In 1911, J.B. Winlaw bought another mill at Duck Creek (Wynndel ),[31] intending to transfer some of the machinery from his Winlaw operation. The next year, fire completely destroyed his original mill, but the timber in the yard was spared.[27] In 1914, a further fire razed the rebuilt sawmill,[32] and milling operations appear to have ceased at this time.
A claim that the mill once stood at the site of the present elementary school seems suspect. BC interior sawmills were mostly erected between a river and railway line. Prior to modern road transport, raw logs arrived via river and finished lumber left via rail. The school site was bought in 1920 from G.A. Hird, a rancher.[33]
Unable to secure a teacher for the 1902–03 year,[34] the school opened the following year.[35] J.B. Winlaw was the inaugural postmaster 1903–1916.[36]
In 1910, a new bridge was built across the river.[37] In 1913, a new wagon road northeast to Perry's Siding was completed.[38] In 1916, a new wagon road southwest to Lebahdo was under construction.[39]
By 1918, a general store existed.[40] In early 1923, a new one-room school building was completed.[41] The next year, a garage opened.[42]
From 1930, Winlaw was a stop on the daily Nelson–New Denver Greyhound bus route.[43]
The population, which was largely farmers, was about 180 by 1918,[40] 258 by 1927,[44] and 304 by 1943.[45]
In 1916, the Doukhobors established a brick factory immediately to the north,[46] which was soon abandoned because the clay proved unsuitable. Called Kirpichnoye (brickworks in Russian) or Claybrick officially, the rural community had become part of Winlaw by the 1960s.[3][47]
Various incidents linked to the Freedomites:
1947: Attempted arson of school.[48]
1952: Fire razed general store and residence.[49]
1953: Fire consumed two buildings and three residences.[49]
1961: Winlaw hall, a residence, and an automobile torched.[50]
1962: CP track dynamited and fire destroyed over 30 residences.[51]
The back-to-the-land movement began during the late 1960s with new arrivals into the 1980s.[52] The Slocan Valley was the focal point for BC.[53] The various communes flourished 1968–1973.[54] The New Family formed a commune on timbered land above Winlaw, buying 16 hectares (40 acres) in 1968 and 65 hectares (160 acres) the following spring.[55] They created the Paradise Valley Nursery.[56] Ventures by other individuals included Robert's Restaurant south of Winlaw, a meeting place for the alternative community that served natural foods.[57] A community cemetery was established.[58] In 1982, the Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance was founded, which sponsored the FLOW (For Love of Water) conference in 1984. Watershed activists from all over the province attended the Winlaw event.[59] In 2008, the alternative school relocated from Vallican.[60]
Services include a grocery store/gas bar/post office, a bakery/cafe, herbal apothecary, an organic food market, three licensed restaurants, and a golf course. Paradise Valley Lodge[61] and Karibu Park Cottages & Campground offer visitor accommodation.[62] Other amenities are a hardware store, Vallican Whole School (private), Winlaw Elementary School, a fire department, and an ambulance station. In 2016, the elementary school was threatened with closure.[63] The West Kootenay Transit System Route 20 stop is at Winlaw bridge.[64] The census population was 297 in 2016, 294 in 2011,[65] and 288 in 2006.[66]
- Lou Lynn, sculptor and a 2021 winner of a Governor General's Award in Visual and Media Arts.[67]
- Warren Macdonald, mountain climber
- Liev Schreiber, actor/director
- Pablo Schreiber, actor
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