Exhibition tells stories of B.C. communities lost to flooding after dam construction
Around 2,000 people living in flood zone between Revelstoke and Castlegar were displaced, says curator
Every spring, as water levels lower in the Columbia River, a stretch of flats are revealed south of Revelstoke, B.C., and local residents take advantage of their seasonal playground as they ride their bikes and walk their dogs there.
"They don't have any sense that it used to be a place where people were living and farming," said Cathy English, curator of the Revelstoke Museum and Archives.
"Same with the school classes. All the kids in town know where the flats are, but they don't know the history of habitation."
Last week, the museum opened a new exhibition called Stories Beneath the Surface, aimed at telling the stories of the communities forced to leave their homes when the valley was flooded in the 1960s with the creation of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam.
As part of its commitment to the Columbia River Treaty, Canada flooded land between Revelstoke and Castlegar, eventually connecting the upper and lower Arrow Lakes near the now submerged community of Arrowhead.
"It's a really important story to tell," said English, referring to how around 2,000 people living in the flood zone were displaced.
The dam was built to mitigate uncontrolled floods and to generate much-needed hydroelectricity at the time.
'He put them up, he's taking them down'
For the new exhibit, English and her team interviewed people who once lived in communities along the flood zone, including 12 Mile, Burton and the predominantly Ukranian village at the base of Mount Cartier.
English spoke with a 94-year-old man whose family owned a beef cattle ranch in Sidmouth. Having moved to the area in the 1930s to escape the drought in the Prairies, his father built all the structures on the farm and established a viable business.
"People were happy with their way of life," English told Daybreak South host Chris Walker.
She remembered one story he told about when it was time to burn the buildings in preparation for the flood. The man told the local authorities that nobody was allowed to touch any of the structures but his father.
"He put them up, he's taking them down," she recalled him saying.
Together with his father and brother, the family set their buildings on fire and watched their way of life for the past 30 years burn to the ground.
'It changed the ecosystem... the way of life'
English hopes the exhibit will serve as a reminder to the public about the history of the land that they now enjoy.
"A lot of the agricultural land in this area was flooded. It changed the ecosystem, it changed the way of life," said English.
"It was a huge impact and it wasn't widely known."
The exhibit includes before-and-after photos, artifacts, an interactive map and a video station with interviews of former residents of the valley.
You can explore the history of the flood zone with this interactive map.
Listen to the full interview below:
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