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British Columbia Tourism Region : Kootenay Rockies
Description From Owner:
Sullivan Hill
- Kimberley - Much uncertainty surrounds the origin of this name.
- It appears likely, however, that Colonel Ridpath, an American mining magnate, conferred the name in 1896 or 1897, presumably hoping that his property here would prove as rich as the diamond-mining centre of Kimberley in South Africa,
- which had been named after the first Earl of Kimberley, who in 1871, as Colonial Secretary, had placed the diamond mines under British protection. The settlement was first known as Mark Creek Crossing and then as Clark City.
- Purcell Mountains - Named by Dr. James Hector after Goodwin Purcell (1817-76). Purcell, the last chieftain of the O'Leary line, was also Professor of Therapeutics and Medical Jurisprudence at Queens University, Cork.
- He had been on the selection committee that had chosen the personnel for the Palliser Expedition, with which Hector was serving.
- Sullivan Hill - Named for Pat Sullivan, from Bantry Bay in Ireland, who with three partners discovered the fantastically rich Sullivan mine here.
- Sullivan was killed soon after in a cave-in in Idaho while working to earn enough money to develop the new mine.
- His partners sold the Sullivan mine in 1896 for $24,000 and sent $6,000 of the proceeds to Sullivan's relatives in Ireland. The Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company (now Cominco) bought the mine in 1910.
- With permission from G.P.V and Helen B. Akrigg 1997 British Columbia Place Names. UBC Press.
Address of this page: http://bc.ruralroutes.com/KimberleyBC