Early Labour and Mining in the Kootenays
The Kootenay region of BC has a colourful history with regards to labour and worker’s rights. With the advent of mining and resource extraction, the region expanded rapidly in the early 20th century. As shown in this photograph, the use of flat bottomed steam ships facilitated transport to and from the Interior, allowing settlers to access previously inaccessible regions. It will be the goal of this section of Kootenay History to share some stories about early mining history in the region, with a particular focus on labour relations and the story of Ginger Goodwin and Selwyn Blaylock at the Trail smelter.
Researched and written by: Hillary Jay Published: August 27, 2021
History of the Cominco Smelter in Trail
The history of the Consolidated Mining & Smelting Company (Cominco) in Trail starts in 1895 when August Heinze, an American businessman from Montana, built the initial smelter on the west bank of the Columbia river. The first furnace was opened a year later, in 1896, and a narrow gauge railway was constructed to link the […]
History of Labour in Early 20th Century British Columbia
Pre-Contact Histories and the Shift Towards a European Outlook on Land, Resources & Labour The first Indigenous economies in BC were based off of fishing, hunting & trade. In the late 1700’s the first European settlers arrived on the North American continent (Turtle Island) and began to trade with Indigenous populations. It is important to […]
Ginger Goodwin & Selwyn Blaylock
Ginger Goodwin- Advocate for Worker’s Rights Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin was born on May 10, 1887, in Treeton, England. He moved to Canada at an early age and started working in coal mines in Nova Scotia, Alberta & BC. After experiencing challenging working conditions in the mines, he was motivated to take political action for the […]