Kamloops Mining & Development Company
Historical Name: Kamloops Mining & Development Company
Common Name: C.C. Woodhouse Assay Office
Address: 1854 Columbia Avenue
Date of Construction: 1895
Architecture: Victorian Commercial
The Kamloops Mining & Development Company building was built in 1895, following the company’s transfer to Rossland. Located at 1854 Columbia Avenue, the three-storey, gable-roofed building is one of Rossland’s oldest surviving structures.
City of Rossland Heritage Register Plaque
2315.0034 Postcard of Columbia Avenue looking east from rock bluff, circa 1900
The building was used as the company’s assaying office and operated by C.C. Woodhouse Jr., a founding partner of the Kamloops Mining & Development Company. In 1898, the building underwent a series of renovations. Columbia Avenue was then graded in September 1898, and, as a result, the building remained at 12 feet above street level. Following this, the Kamloops Mining & Development Company decided to excavate the building and add an additional storey. The addition, which became the building’s new first floor, housed the company’s reception room and mineralogical exhibit, while the workrooms and assay office were located on the second floor. According to the Rossland Miner, a “fancy” front was also added to the building.
Kamloops Mining & Development Company. Photo Taken by Shelia Corrado, July 1984. Part of the Rossland Commercial Heritage Buildings Inventory
By 1902, the building was owned by Harold E. Forster, president of the Kamloops Mining & Development Company. Forster owned the building until approximately 1915-1916, at which point it was purchased by Andrew Milton Johnson from Pasco, Washington. In 1920, the building’s owner was listed as his wife, Margaret K. Gray-Johnson, who owned the building until at least 1936. Due to a 13-year gap in the City of Rossland Tax Rolls, it is unknown when the building was sold. By 1949, however, the building was owned by Margaret M. Babcock.
At some point prior to 1938, the building’s second and third floors were transformed into apartments. Currently, the entire building is used for residential purposes.
For More Information:
Rossland Heritage Commission Official Heritage Register - Buildings
Historic Places Canada: Rossland Post Office
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