“the light of Nelson now shines forth.”
The Miner, February 1, 1896
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Built in 1895–96 by the Nelson Electric Light Company at this location, the Cottonwood Falls Electric Light Station was the first operating hydroelectric development in British Columbia when it began supplying electricity on February 1, 1896. The two historical objects seen here—a generator and a pulley wheel—are from the original power plant and are a part of the permanent collection of the Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery. At that time, two 90-centimetre (36 inch) Pelton waterwheels, assisted by the pulley wheels, drove two 35-kilowatt direct-current generators that produced current at 110 volts. The City of Nelson purchased the Nelson Electric Light Company in 1899.
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A few years later, the Cottonwood Creek plant succumbed to natural forces with erratic water levels and freezing temperatures eventually leading to the need for a larger, more dependable site. This was found downstream of Nelson at Bonnington Falls on the Kootenay River in 1907. The generator and wheel were sold to the Canadian Marble Works at Marblehead in 1909 and then used by a group at Mirror Lake, north of Nelson, for their local hydro plant.
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Both objects were later displayed at Nelson’s Lakeside Park. In 2020, they were moved back to their original location here, two months before the 125th anniversary of the opening of the Electric Light Station, where they had played critical roles in generating electricity for Nelson. The stone foundations have remained on this site since 1896, when they supported Cottonwood Creek’s water as it passed through the power plant so many years ago.
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Please visit the Museum located at 502 Vernon Street to learn more about the history of the area.
The Nelson Izu-shi Friendship Society thanks Jennifer Dunkerson, Astrid Heyerdahl, JP Stienne, and the research staff of the Nelson Museum, Archives & Gallery for providing these artifacts and telling their story.
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