Sign In
Subscribe Now
Sixty-fifth in an semi-alphabetical series on West Kootenay/Boundary place names
The settlement that developed at the Silver King mine near Nelson was originally called Toad Mountain Camp, but once a townsite was laid out, it was known as Fredericton.
Aaron Hart Kelly (1846-1911), described in the Nelson Miner as a “prospector, mine owner, real estate agent, and all-round gallant,” named it after his New Brunswick hometown — not the city, but rather the village of Fredericton Junction.
The first Fredericton townsite ad appeared in the Miner on July 16, 1892. The same issue noted: “Messrs. Kirk & Ritchie are surveying a townsite on Toad mountain, adjoining the Dandy, which will be on the market before long.”
Two weeks later, the paper reported: “Fredericton forms the apex of a triangle of which the centre lines of the Dandy and the Silver King form the base. It is thus in the most favorable location for townsite purposes and whatever settlement can be made in the immediate neighborhood of the mines.”
At 5,950 feet (1,813 m) above sea level, it had the highest elevation of any town in Canada — or would have, had it flourished beyond a mining camp.
One of Fredericton’s few businesses was the Toad Mountain Hotel, also known as the Grand View or Morice House, presumably made of logs cut on site and operated by David Morice, whose wife gave birth there to a son, John William Frederick, on November 23, 1892. (Morice named a mining claim, the Freddie Morice, after his child.) The hotel was also a polling station in the 1894 provincial election.
The last townsite ad appeared in 1894, but five years later, Morice was still running the hotel when a petition began circulating asking that his license be cancelled. According to the Nelson Tribune, “It is said that the petition is being engineered by some of the mining officials at the Silver King … The cutting off of a license held by Morice would do away with a headquarters for miners who think as they please and vote accordingly.”
However, the license commission rejected the request, saying such an application “could not be entertained unless there was some evidence forthcoming that the hotel complained of was improperly conducted.”
The Grand View Hotel was last listed in the 1905 civic directory. By that time, however, the Silver King mine had been closed three years and Morice had been dead just as long: he passed away in Nelson of tuberculosis in 1902, age 45.
Fredericton last appeared in the directory in 1910, misspelled Frederickton. A.H. Kelly was still working mining properties on Toad Mountain until shortly before his death the following year in Victoria. He was fond of poker and his last words were: “Three queens, two pair. Boys, I am tired. Let’s quit.”
Previous installments in this series
Introduction
Ainsworth
Alamo
Anaconda
Annable, Apex, and Arrow Park
Annable, revisited
Appledale
Applegrove, Appleby, and Appledale revisited
Argenta and Arrowhead
Aylwin
Bakers, Birds, and Bosun Landing
Balfour
Bannock City, Basin City, and Bear Lake City
Beasley
Beaton
Bealby Point
Bealby Point (aka Florence Park) revisited
Belford and Blewett
Beaverdell and Billings
Birchbank and Birchdale
Blueberry and Bonnington
Boswell, Bosworth, Boulder Mill, and Broadwater
Brandon
Brilliant
Brooklyn, Brouse, and Burnt Flat
Burton
Camborne, Cariboo City, and Carrolls Landing
Carmi, Cedar Point, Circle City, and Clark’s Camp
Carson, Carstens, and Cascade City
Casino and Champion Creek
Castlegar, Part 1
Castlegar, Part 2
Castlegar, Part 3
Christina Lake
Christina City and Christian Valley
Clubb Landing and Coltern
Cody and Champion Creek revisited
Champion Creek revisited, again
Columbia
Columbia City, Columbia Gardens, and Columbia Park
Comaplix
Cooper Creek and Corra Linn
Crawford Bay and Comaplix revisited
Crescent Valley and Craigtown
Davenport
Dawson, Deadwood, and Deanshaven
Deer Park
East Arrow Park and Edgewood
Eholt
English Cove and English Point
Enterprise
Erie
Evans Creek and Evansport
Falls City
Farron
Fauquier
Ferguson
Ferguson, revisited
Fife
Forslund, Fosthall, and Fairview
Fort Shepherd vs. Fort Sheppard, Part 1
Fort Shepherd vs. Fort Sheppard, Part 2
Fort Sheppard, revisited
Fraser’s Landing and Franklin
Dialogue and debate are integral to a free society and we welcome and encourage you to share your views on the issues of the day. We ask that you be respectful of others and their points of view, refrain from personal attacks and stay on topic. To learn about our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines.