For many, Trail Operations is synonymous with the City of Trail—the smelter, established in the late 1800s, followed by the incorporation of the city in 1901—share a deep history that is now on display in the city’s new Riverfront Centre, a state-of-the-art integrated library and museum facility that opened this spring.
“Industry is the overarching theme: it’s why people came to Trail, it’s why people stayed, and it’s what’s sustaining us today,” explains Trail Museum and Archives Manager Sarah Benson-Lord, who also facilitates Trail Operations’ After Hours magazine. “We can’t ignore industry as the primary factor for the creation and the sustainability of this town.”
Natural light beams into the Riverfront Centre like a spotlight on the Teck Commons area, designed as the community gathering space in the building. Old industry photographs run alongside the staircase as a prelude to the museum, located on the second floor.
A showpiece of the museum is the original machine draft drawings outlining differential froth flotation, a groundbreaking new method for the separation of zinc and lead ore invented at Trail Operations by Ralph Diamond between 1917 to 1920. Today, a standard process for ore recovery used worldwide, differential froth flotation was a radical departure at the time.
“Differential flotation not only unlocked the treasures of the Sullivan Mine’s rich zinc-lead-iron sulphide ore that was refined at Trail Operations, it also ensured the future of the smelter,” explains Carol Vanelli Worosz, Community Engagement Leader for Teck’s Trail Operations. “It was the first successful large-scale differential flotation operation anywhere in the world, and it added a significant weapon to the metallurgists’ arsenal for mineral recovery.”
The Riverfront Centre, a state-of-the-art integrated library and museum facility, is located in downtown Trail. |
The Riverfront Centre also celebrates the long line of past Trail Operations’ employees, through photographs and memorabilia like tiny zinc tools and gold medallions given out as company anniversary gifts. Memories may be further jogged by the display of the Cominco Magazine, which was started as a wartime publication that was sent to employees on active service overseas.
There’s a distinct thread of company presence in nearly every part of the museum, spanning topics from wartime to immigration, which helps tie all sections of the area’s history together.
The last exhibit in the museum, titled The Hill—a parochial term used by locals to reference the smelter—especially represents Teck’s relationship with the City of Trail.
“If we hadn’t had that one discovery—differential flotation—you wouldn’t have seen the immigration boom and you wouldn’t have seen the development of zinc processing in Trail,” reiterates Sarah. “We’re trying to show people that, without these brilliant minds, we wouldn’t have seen people flock here in waves like they did.”
Along with the industrial boom came a cultural movement, as people from around the world came to the area for work. As they laid their roots in Trail, it helped further shape the city. Those varied cultures are still represented at community functions today with music by the Trail Pipe Band and the Trail Maple Leaf Band. And Italian flavours are apparent in establishments like the Colander Restaurant—an all-you-can-eat spaghetti Trail tradition—and Star Grocery, a deli known for its fine meat, cheese and Italian delicacies.
For some, touring the new museum is like flipping through old family photos, as donated family treasures and company prized possessions jog their memory.
“I think almost every Trail family has a story or two that identifies the relationship between Teck and the community,” says Carol, a third-generation Teck employee. “This facility is a beautiful, modern showcase that stands out as an anchor for the community, a key draw for downtown, and a place that will become a focal point and gathering place as intended.”
