All the Way to Revelstoke

Before the construction of the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, the head of the two Arrow Lakes was at Arrowhead, about 38 km south of Revelstoke. Once the dam was completed, the Arrow Lakes reservoir continued all the way up to Revelstoke.

It is easy to focus on the farming communities south of Revelstoke and forget the significant impacts of the dam on the city itself.

A black-and-white photograph of a baseball field. Cars and people surround the outside of the field. Mountains and trees are in the background. The start of a dirt road is shown on the right before the field.

Centennial Park baseball field in Revelstoke, May 20th, 1962. RMA photo 3875. Photographer: Estelle Dickey.

Centennial Park Ballfields were created as the city’s B.C. Centennial project in 1958. It was the centre of the town’s vibrant Little League baseball program. For a while, it looked as though the ballpark would be sacrificed to the reservoir. Happily, an agreement was reached between BC Hydro and the city, and the fields were raised by up to four feet, and the banks were reinforced.

Large dykes were built in Big Eddy, on the west side of the river, as well as along the Illecillewaet River. The Big Eddy Dyke is 3.2 km long and protects more than 100 hectares of residential and industrial land. The dyke took more than 535,000 cubic metres of material.

Black-and-white aerial photograph of Revelstoke that shows mountains, a river cutting across the photograph, and a section of the city. A long airstrip juts out into the water in the middle of the photograph.

Panorama of the area south of Revelstoke. The view shows Arrow Heights and the airport. July 4, 1970. RMA photo 4064.

Revelstoke’s airport had to be rebuilt, and flying was suspended for more than six months until the spring of 1969. The new airfield was raised by 4.5 metres, and the runway was 1372 metres, an increase of 396 metres over the previous one.

A 610-metre dyke was built along Revelstoke’s golf course and a land exchange between the City of Revelstoke and BC Hydro allowed for later expansion of the course to 18 holes.

A black-and-white photograph of a two-story club house sitting in a field. The building's patio has outdoor chairs on it. A women is sitting under an umbrella beside the building. There is a fence to the left of the building. Trees and a car on the road in the background.

Revelstoke Golf Course Club House, ca. 1960. RMA photo 5061.

Only the Names Remain Standard Dairy