West Kootenay Advertiser
Thursday, April 8, 2021 A9
History
McCallum Hill & Co. took out half-page ads in the Nelson Daily News in April 1911 in a bid to sell the former Durban Ranch. It worked.
The Durban ranch, later sold to the Doukhobors and renamed Skalistoye, is seen in J.T. Bealby’s 1909 book, Fruit Ranching in British Columbia. The original caption read “A successful orchard amongst the stones, near Nelson.”
Doukhobors renamed Nelson-area ranch Skalistoye by Jonathan Kalmakoff and Greg Nesteroff
Second in a series on the history of Grohman Narrows Park In April 1911, the former Durban Ranch west of Nelson changed hands for $10,000 after the realtors who owned the property took out huge ads pressing for a swift sale. The purchaser was Russian revolutionary-turned-Nelson real estate agent Konstantine Popoff via the local firm of McQuarrie and Robertson. Only four days earlier, Popoff had sold his 30acre ranch two miles downriver at Taghum to Doukhobor leader Peter V. Verigin on behalf of the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood (CCUB) for $15,000. Evidently Popoff used the sale proceeds to finance the purchase of the Durban Ranch. Popoff immediately put some men to work pruning the 2,200 fruit trees on the ranch in preparation for the season’s operations. However, he had no intention of keeping the property for long. Four days later, Popoff resold it to a second buyer, none other than Peter V. Verigin, again via McQuarrie and Robertson. Verigin assumed Popoff’s interest under the agreement for sale with the Regina firm of McCallum Hill & Co., whereby the Durban Ranch would be paid for in $1,000 annual installments over a 10-year period. In addition, Verigin paid Popoff a $3,000 “commission” for his troubles, with the Nelson Daily News aptly reporting that, Popoff had
Konstantine Popoff is seen in an undated pass- Doukhobor leader Peter P. Verigin is port photo. He bought the Durban Ranch in seen in a 1922 portrait by Campbell 1911 and quickly resold it to the Doukhobors. Art Gallery of Nelson. Greg Nesteroff Slocan Valley Historical Society 2013-01-3089 collection “made a substantial profit over be fully bearing for several years, the price he paid for the ranch.” they required mature, producing Verigin’s reasons for purchasing orchards to supply their jam factothe ranch seem to be have been ry with fruit and the Bunker Ranch two-fold. First, he had already was “one of, if not the most highbought up all the available large ly developed, fruit ranches in the blocks in the Kootenay, Columbia Kootenays” at the time. and Slocan valleys, such as those at At the time of the Doukhobor Brilliant and Ootischenia, Cham- purchase, the ranch had 25 acres pion Creek, Pass Creek and Cres- set out in 2,200 fruit trees, 1,500 cent Valley. Going forward, he was of which were apple, including limited to purchasing small ranch- 360 that were already bearing; 60 es and farms on the upper reaches pear, of which 25 were bearing; of the Kootenay and Slocan Rivers 100 plum in bearing, 500 cherry, on which to settle his people. of which 125 were bearing, and 40 Second, the CCUB had just pur- peach, with eight bearing. About chased the jam factory at Nelson 13 acres was under cultivation for and formed the Kootenay-Colum- small fruits and vegetables, includbia Preserving Works to operate ing one acre of strawberries and it. As the Doukhobors’ earliest raspberries, and half an acre of planted orchards were only be- gooseberries and currants. ginning to bear and would not Buildings on the property con-
sisted of two small houses (one of two stories, measuring 12 by 23 feet and another of a single story, 10 by 23 feet). There was also a small packing shed, stable, large hay barn, pig and chicken house and root cellar. The buildings were collectively valued at about $1,500. Verigin forthwith “arranged to put a large staff of men at work on the ranch” to manage the orchard and develop the remaining arable land. Within two years, the Daily News reported the Doukhobors had made “extensive improvements” in clearing and planting the property into orchard and small fruit. The Doukhobors named the ranch Skalistoye (Скалистое), meaning “rocky” or “craggy” in Russian. The name reflected the fact that despite its rich, fruit-growing soil in places, a large portion of the ranch was barren and unusable for agricultural purposes. In 1917, Verigin transferred his interest under the agreement for sale to the newly-incorporated CCUB with $3,000 remaining owing. In the interim, McCallum and Hill assigned their own interest under the agreement for sale to John Allen Wetmore, former accountant of the Imperial Bank at Nelson, now Imperial Bank manager at Regina. In 1920, after completing the remaining payments to Wetmore, the CCUB finally received legal title to the Skalistoye property. Next: Doukhobor families at Skalistoye