Fort Steele, British Columbia, flourished in the 1890s, and then began to decline when the railroad by-passed the town in 1898. Today Fort Steele is a Heritage Village in which visitors can experience what life was like in the 1890s. The Heritage Village includes restored buildings, replica buildings, and buildings which are allowed to decay naturally.
Overview
Map shown above.
The public school is shown above. One teacher in the 1890s would teach as many as 90 students. Subjects included reading, writing, spelling, and arithmetic were taken by all students. Science was not taught in rural schools such as this one.
Perry Creek Water Wheel
This is a restoration of the original wheel built by the Perry Creek Gold Mines Ltd. According to the display:
“Technically speaking, it is an overshot wheel, 32 feet in diameter and 7 feet wide. There are 72 buckets, each holding 70 gallons. The axle shaft is 6 inches thick and fourteen feet long. The wheel revolves are 6.9 R.P.M., developing 68 horsepower which drove an electric turbine. This powered 2 water pumps which could raise 600 gallons a minute from the mine shaft.”
Government Building
The court room is shown above.
Shown above is one of the jail cells.
Shown above is the kitchen for the jail.
Shown above is the staircase for the two-story building.
Museums 101
Museums 101 is a series of photo tours of various museums and their exhibits. More from this series:
Museums 101: The Nevada City Homestead Cabins (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Saddles (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Under the Arctic (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Presby House Bedroom and Bathroom (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Logging Train (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Fort Steele Drug Store (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: The Fort Dalles Museum (Photo Diary)
Museums 101: Quilts (Photo Diary)
