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PLACE NAMES: Paulson and Petersbury

Today Paulson is a bridge, a backroad, and a highway, but originally it was a siding on the Columbia and Western Railway.
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The Paulson Hotel

One hundred forty-seventh in a semi-alphabetical series on West Kootenay/Boundary place names

Today Paulson is a bridge, a backroad, and a highway, but originally it was a siding on the Columbia and Western Railway named after the Bonanza mine.

It was first mentioned in the Phoenix Pioneer of Jan. 18, 1902: “The Canadian Pacific has issued a circular to the effect that the spur at the railroad end of St. Thomas wagon road … has been placed on the list of flag stations and will be known as Bonanza Siding.”

In June of the same year, an application for an hotel license at Bonanza Siding was filed by brothers Thomas Henry (1861-1928), John William (1863-1923), and George Alfred (1866-1904) Paulson, who hailed from Nottinghamshire, England. The latter two were grocers in Rossland by 1897.

The Bonanza Siding hotel doubled as a store and post office, the latter of which opened on May 1, 1902 with Thomas serving as postmaster. It was renamed Paulson on July 1, 1904.

Tragedy struck the following month: George Paulson was walking along the Red Mountain railway track in Rossland near the Black Bear mine when a freight train came along. The engineer whistled and rang his bell, but George, who was deaf, heard nothing. The train tossed him off the track and broke one of his legs. He died soon after of internal injuries.

In 1907, Thomas returned to Nottinghamshire and married Lucy Gertrude Caunt. In 1909, their son Clyde was born, either in Paulson or Rossland, depending on conflicting sources. During the latter year, the Paulsons sold their Rossland store to the Union Co-operative Co.

The 1910 civic directory showed Paulson was home to the Trail Lumber Co. sawmill and Inland Empire Mining and Milling Co., which owned several claims in the area, including one acquired from the Paulsons.

The Grand Forks Sun of Jan. 8, 1915 gives us a nice peek at life there: “Christmas week at Paulson was filled with ski riding, snow-shoeing and whist parties. New Year’s eve the people of the camp were invited to the Hotel Paulson, where a Christmas tree awaited them. The evening was spent with music, games and dancing. When 12 o’clock struck all joined hands and sang Auld Lang Syne.”

John Paulson and wife Agnes don’t seem to have stayed in the area very long. He died in Point Grey and she died in Vancouver in 1944. Thomas resigned as postmaster in 1919 and retired to Victoria, where he and wife Lucy both passed away. Their son Clyde worked for the Bank of Toronto.

The Paulson post office closed in 1942. The community is long gone but remembered today in Paulson Detour Rd., the Blueberry Paulson highway, and the Paulson bridge.

BELOW: Thomas H. Paulson, one of the namesake brothers to the community, married Lucy Gertrude Caunt in 1907. This is probably their wedding photo, taken in Derbyshire.

PETERSBURG or PETERSBURY

In a manuscript entitled Recollections, the late Dave Norcross wrote: “A small settlement called Petersburg came into being about two miles up Wildhorse Creek below the Ymir and Goodenough mines. While we have no record, it is possible that Petersburg was named for Pete the packer who lived in Ymir in the very early days and was also a well known operator with a string of pack horses engaged in transporting supplies over the Dewdney Trail.”

The 1897 and 1898 BC directories contain entries for Petersbury, “a mining camp on Wild Horse Creek, four miles above Ymir by wagon road,” but listed no residents. No other references to this place have been discovered.

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

Fredericton

Fruitvale and Fraine

Galena Bay

Genelle

Gerrard

Gilpin and Glade

Gladstone and Gerrard, revisited

Glendevon and Graham Landing

Gloster City

Goldfields and Gold Hill

Grand Forks, Part 1

Grand Forks, Part 2

Granite Siding and Granite City

Gray Creek, Part 1

Gray Creek, Part 2

Gray Creek, revisited

Green City

Greenwood

Halcyon Hot Springs

Hall Siding and Healy’s Landing

Harrop

Hartford Junction

Hills

Howser, Part 1

Howser, Part 2

Howser, Part 3

Howser, Part 4

Hudu Valley, Huntingtdon, and Healy’s Landing revisited

Inonoaklin Valley (aka Fire Valley)

Jersey, Johnsons Landing, and Jubilee Point

Kaslo, Part 1

Kaslo, Part 2

Kaslo, Part 3

Kaslo, Part 4

Kettle River, Part 1

Kettle River, Part 2

Kinnaird, Part 1

Kinnaird, Part 2

Kitto Landing

Koch Siding and Keen

Kokanee

Kootenay Bay, Kraft, and Krestova

Kuskonook, Part 1

Kuskonook, Part 2

Kuskonook (and Kuskanax), Part 3

Labarthe, Lafferty, and Longbeach

Lardeau, Part 1

Lardeau, Part 2

Lardeau, Part 3

Lardeau, Part 4

Lebahdo

Lemon Creek, Part 1

Lemon Creek, Part 2

Lemon Creek, Part 3

Makinsons Landing and Marblehead

McDonalds Landing, McGuigan, and Meadow Creek

Meadows, Melville, and Miles’ Ferry

Midway

Mineral City and Minton

Mirror Lake and Molly Gibson Landing

Montgomery and Monte Carlo, Part 1

Montgomery and Monte Carlo, Part 2

Montrose and Myncaster

Nakusp, Part 1

Nakusp, Part 2

Nashville

Needles

Nelson, Part 1

Nelson, Part 2

Nelson, Part 3

Nelson, Part 4

Nelson, Wash.

Nelway and New Galway

New Denver, Part 1

New Denver, Part 2

Niagara

Oasis and Oatescott

Ootischenia

Oro

Park Siding and Pass Creek

Passmore

Paterson