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The
Trail
The Doukhobor Waterline Trail is a historic hiking
trail which follows 3.5 kilometers of the original 8 kilometer long
Big McPhee Creek waterline which was used by local Doukhobors to
irrigate their lands in Upper Ootischenia.
The trail follows as closely as possible the original waterline
route across to McPhee Creek, then winds its way up the McPhee
Creek Canyon to the remains of a concrete reservoir at the intake
point. All along the trail you will see remnants of the wire-bound
and tarred wooden pipeline as well as trestles used to span deep
gullies.
The trail offers a glimpse into one of the amazing
accomplishments of the Doukhobor communities in this area.
The
Doukhobors
The Doukhobors were a persecuted religious group in
Tsarist Russia. With the help of many influential people, including
author Leo Tolstoy, over 7,500 Doukhobors emigrated to Canada in
1898 and 1899, to what is now the province of Saskatchewan, where
they lived and worked communally.
In 1908 5,000 Doukhobors resettled to the Kootenay and Boundary
areas of British Columbia. Once again they set up communal housing,
farms and mills.
Doukhobor Settlers at Ootischenia, British Columbia, c 1908, BC
Archives A-02072
Irrigation
The Doukhobors set up many large irrigation systems
to water their crops. The waterline from Big McPhee Creek was one
of the larger ones. This line was constructed in 1927-1928 and
provided water to all the large farms in the Upper Ootischenia
area.
The pipes were made out of pieces of wood held together by iron
coils and sealed with a coating of tar. All supplies used to build
this waterline were manufactured in Doukhobor industries and then
carried by people and animals to the point of construction. This
gravity-fed line was 18 inches in diameter in the upper reaches,
then reduced to 14 inches in diameter lower down to increase the
pressure.
A small crew of men were appointed each year to walk the
waterline daily during the irrigation season to maintain and repair
the pipeline. This waterline continued to be used by local
Doukhobors until it was abandoned in 1956 when it became
impractical to maintain.
(Based on 'The Doukhobor Waterline Trail' panphlet by Takaia
Larsen written for Castlegar Friends Of Parks and Trails and funded
by Columbia Power Corporation)
Mealtime For Doukhobor Communal Workers, c 1912, BC Archives
C-01490
Links
Castlegar Friends Of Parks and Trails
http://www.friendsoftrails.org/brochure-trails.html#waterline
Trails In Time - Doukhobor Waterline Trail Construction
History
http://www.trailsintime.org/?request=doukhoborwaterline
Kamennoye Wood Stave Pipe Factory
http://www.doukhobor.org/Woodpipe-Factory.htm
Doukhobor Genealogy Website
http://www.doukhobor.org/ |