New Denver, British Columbia
| New Denver | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
| The Corporation of the Village of New Denver | |
 New Denver
|
|
| Coordinates: 49°59′29″N 117°22′19″W / 49.99139°N 117.37194°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 British Columbia
|
| Region | Slocan Valley, West Kootenay |
| Regional district | Central Kootenay |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Incorporated | 1929 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | New Denver Village Council |
| • Mayor | Ann Bunka |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.87 km2 (0.34 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 560 m (1,840 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 504 |
| • Density | 579.6/km2 (1,501/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| Area code(s) | 250 / 778 / 236 |
| Highways |
 BC 6 BC 31A
|
| Waterways | Slocan Lake |
New Denver is a village in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, along the shore of Slocan Lake. New Denver was founded as a mining town in 1892, and briefly known as Eldorado City before being renamed after Denver, Colorado. It was incorporated as a village in 1929 and currently has approximately 504 residents.
During World War II, New Denver became a Japanese Canadian internment camp. Not long after the outbreak of hostilities and Japan's attack on Canadian troops in Hong Kong in December 1941, men of Japanese descent between the ages of 18 to 45 were sent to labour camps in the Interior of British Columbia or farther into Eastern Canada. Also, approximately 1,500 women, children, and elderly men were sent to the "Orchard", a small section of New Denver set up to house them. New Denver's Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre is dedicated to the history of the 23,000 Japanese Canadians who were interned by the Canadian government and is a National Historic Site of Canada.
In the 1950s, children of Freedomites, a Doukhobor extremist group, were removed from their parents and sent to residential school in New Denver. The Freedomites refused to send their children to school because of their religious beliefs.
Ken Casley served as mayor from 1982 until 1989, and then stepped down for health reasons. He was succeeded by Gary Wright. Wright continued in the position until his retirement in 2011, and was succeeded by Ann Bunka.
The town is notable for its resistance to mobile phones. In a 2008 referendum, many citizens voted against the introduction of cellular telephone service. Despite this, on 20 July 2010, Telus Canada began installation of a cell phone facility in the heart of the village with many citizens peacefully protesting the installation.
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