Mount Sicker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mount Sicker
Mount Sicker Location in British Columbia
Highest point
Elevation	716 m (2,349 ft)
Listing	Mountains of British Columbia
Geography
Location	British Columbia, Canada
District	Somenos Land District
Topo map	NTS 92B13 Duncan

Mount Sicker is a mountain located on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It actually has two main peaks: Big Sicker Mountain, which is about 716 metres (2,349 feet) tall, and Little Sicker Mountain, which is about 660 metres (2,165 feet) tall. These peaks are close to the towns of Crofton, Chemainus, and Duncan. The mountain was named after John J. Sicker, who was one of the first settlers, or "homesteaders," in the area.

Discovering Minerals on Mount Sicker

Early Prospecting and a Lucky Fire

In the fall of 1895, three prospectors named Thomas L. Sullins, T. McKay, and Henry Buzzard were exploring Mount Sicker. They found small amounts of valuable metals like copper, gold, and silver. They quickly claimed these areas. Sadly, McKay passed away that winter.

In the spring of 1896, Harry Smith joined Sullins and Buzzard as a new partner. At first, their copper findings didn't seem very promising. Then, in August, a big forest fire swept across the western side of the mountain. The prospectors had to leave their digging site and run to safety. The fire destroyed their cabin and all their tools.

A Big Discovery After the Fire

When Harry Smith returned alone in the spring of 1897, the burned area revealed something amazing. The fire had cleared away the trees and dirt, showing a wide area of copper rock, about 9 metres (30 feet) wide, at a height of about 427 metres (1,400 feet) up the mountain. This was a much bigger find than they had expected! As soon as news of this discovery spread, other prospectors rushed to Mount Sicker and claimed the entire mountain.

The Lenora Mine and Townsite

Starting the Lenora Mine

Harry Smith named his new copper discovery "Lenora" after his married daughter. In 1904, Lenora Richards (who also owned part of another mine called Richard III) and Thomas Sullins' wife and children tragically drowned when their steamboat, the S.S. Clallam, sank. Thomas Sullins survived the accident.

In the fall of 1897, Harry Smith started a company called the Lenora, Mt. Sicker and BC Development Co. To get money for the company, Henry Croft, who was related to a powerful businessman named James Dunsmuir, bought most of the company's shares in the spring of 1898. The company was then renamed Lenora, Mt. Sicker Copper Mining Co., and Croft became its manager.

Mining Operations and Closure

By January 1900, the Lenora mine was very successful. It was the fourth largest shipper of ore (raw rock containing minerals) in British Columbia. However, mining stopped in late 1902 when the company faced financial problems.

Some smaller mining operations happened in 1905, but the mine closed again the next year. In 1907, another company, the Vancouver Copper Co., tried to restart the mine, but they also went out of business that same year.

Life in the Lenora Townsite

A small town was built near the Lenora mine's tunnel. By 1899, this town had a general store, a school, a stable for horses, and places for people to live. In 1900, land lots in the town were sold. In early 1901, a large 18-room hotel called the Mt. Sicker Hotel opened, along with a schoolhouse that could hold 40 students.

However, the hotel closed in 1907, and its contents were sold off over the next two years. Eventually, the buildings in the townsite were offered for sale at very low prices – the hotel for $8 and the cottages for $2.

Getting Around: Roads and Railways

In 1900, a daily stagecoach service started between Lenora and Westholme. To transport the ore from the mine, a wagon road was built first, then a horse-powered tramway, and finally a narrow-gauge railway. This railway connected the mine to the main Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway (E&N) line, just southwest of the Westholme station.

Initially, the ore was sent by train to Ladysmith, and then by boat to a smelter (a factory that separates metal from ore) in Vananda (now Van Anda) on Texada Island. By 1901, the ore was being sent to a smelter in Tacoma, USA. In 1902, the Lenora company extended its railway line all the way to Crofton so they could process the ore at their own new smelter there. This railway was known as the Lenora Mt. Sicker Railway.

The Tyee Mine and Townsite

Tyee Mining Operations

In the spring of 1897, Harry Smith and Henry Buzzard also claimed another area called Tyee, which was several hundred feet higher up the mountain than Lenora. This claim looked very promising. A company called Tyee Development Co. was formed, but it was bought by the Tyee Copper Co. in April 1900.

The Tyee mine was at its busiest in 1905, becoming the biggest copper producer on the coast of British Columbia. However, by 1907, production dropped sharply, and the mine closed.

The Tyee Townsite and Population Boom

By 1901, the Tyee mine also had its own townsite, and a hotel called the Brenton Hotel opened there by the fall. At this time, the total population on Mount Sicker reached about 2,000 people. This made it the fourth largest community on Vancouver Island!

Transporting Ore from Tyee

In October 1900, a 2.4-metre (8-foot) wide wagon road was opened from Somenos to the Tyee mine. From the E&N railway station, the ore was sent to Ladysmith and then to Tacoma.

In October 1902, the Tyee company built an amazing 5.3-kilometre (3.3-mile) long aerial tramway. This system used half-ton buckets to carry ore from the mine down to a large storage bin (which could hold 200 tons of ore) at their E&N railway siding. This siding was about 3.2 kilometres (2 miles) south of the Lenora mine.

This tramway was special because it had the longest single section in the world at the time. It dropped about 579 metres (1,900 feet) in height and could move 5,000 tons of ore each month. In 1902, the company also opened its own smelter west of Ladysmith, but the final processing of the ore still happened in Tacoma.

The Richard III Mine

The Richard III mine was located higher up and to the east of the Tyee mine. Development work started there in late 1902 and continued in 1903. The ore from Richard III was transported using the Tyee aerial tramway and then the E&N railway to Ladysmith.

In 1905, the mine temporarily closed because it seemed like the main ore vein was used up. Production was highest in 1906, but the mine finally closed in 1907. Both the Richard III and Tyee mines had problems with flooding, which meant they had to install expensive drainage pipes and pumps to keep the water out.

Later Mining Attempts

After the main mines closed, there were several attempts to restart mining operations on Mount Sicker, but they were usually not profitable and didn't last long.

• In 1924, the Lenora mine reopened for a short time under a lease.
• In 1926, a company called Ladysmith Tidewater Smelters took over the Tyee mine and smelter, and also leased the Lenora mine.
• In 1928, these ventures changed hands again.
• By 1929, all work stopped, and the lease was dropped.
• In 1939, there was an option to develop the Lenora, Tyee, and Richard III mines, but this plan was dropped in 1940.
• In 1941, the Department of Mines studied the mountain's geology in detail.
• By 1943, a company called Twin J Mines had fixed up all three mines and operated them off and on until 1952.

Over their entire history, the mines on Mount Sicker produced a total of about 9.2 million kilograms (20.2 million pounds) of copper, 23.9 thousand kilograms (841,276 ounces) of silver, and 1.1 thousand kilograms (39,052 ounces) of gold. Most of this production happened in the early years, with later attempts contributing only a small amount.

What's Left Today

Many of the houses from the old mining towns were saved and moved to other communities in the Cowichan Valley. However, some buildings remained on Mount Sicker, creating a ghost town. Over time, the weather, vandalism, and finally logging activities erased most of the visible signs of these old towns.

How to Access Mount Sicker

You can reach Mount Sicker from Mount Prevost Road, which turns off Somenos Road, or from Mount Sicker Road, which turns off Westholme Road. The roads on Mount Sicker are not paved, not maintained, and don't have signs. They are mainly used for active logging operations. Despite this, the mountain offers great views of the Gulf Islands and the Chemainus River valley.

Towers on the Mountain

In 2000, a weather radar station was opened on the south side of Mount Sicker. This radar could cover an area with a radius of about 256 kilometres (159 miles). The area around the radar is gated, has video surveillance, and is fenced off. There is also a communication tower and a cell phone tower at the site. After a hardware problem in 2017, this location became a decommissioned (no longer used) part of the Canadian weather radar network the following year.