Once the Capital City of the Silvery Slocan, and known as the Monte Carlo of North America, Sandon is located at the centre of where there were once huge deposits of silver ore. At the turn of the 20th century millions of dollars and thousands of people rolled through its streets in the course of slightly more than a decade.

In many ways, the city was typical of mining boom towns of the 1890s, with rough-and-ready construction, a red light district, social halls, and dozens of saloons. In other ways, it was decidedly different. By 1897 Sandon already had electric streetlights, and fire hydrants on the corners! One of the city’s unique features was a boardwalk built over top of Carpenter Creek which was flumed right down the middle of a downtown street.

At the peak of the boom, nearly 8,000 residents lived within a three mile radius. It was incorporated as a city in 1898; by 1920 Sandon was broke and was de-incorporated. Nevertheless, over the past 100-odd years, over $30 billion worth of silver and lead ore has been taken from the region, and Sandon never truly died.

Since the 1970s, a group of dedicated volunteers has worked on-site to preserve and restore artifacts and buildings

Visitors are encouraged to visit the Sandon Museum, located in the only brick building in the old city, and explore its rich history in photos, exhibits and interpretive writing. Today, thousands flock to Sandon every summer to enjoy one of the few remaining authentic “ghost towns” in British Columbia. The Sandon Museum is open May 20 through to the end of September, seven days a week.

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