Until 1887, these dry hills lay undisturbed by man but, that year, a prospector known as
One-Armed Reed explored here for gold and, in 1888, two others, Gwatkin and Shehan, were Crown-granted the Sidewinder Claim. Many other interests were staked and, by 1893, Fairview boasted of being The biggest city north of San Francisco.
Along
The Gulch, close to the mines, buildings were erected and saloons, like
Moffat's, the
Golden Gate, the
Bucket of Blood and
The Miner's Rest served the needs of the roistering population. To the southeast of
The Gulch the townsite of Fairview was laid out. It was here, in 1897, that Fairview's
Grand Hotel, nicknamed The Big Tee-Pee, was built. Five years later it burned down, with the loss of two lives. Many years later the ground on which the hotel had stood was screened, yielding dozens of gold and silver artefacts and coins.
By 1906, when Fairview’s gold began to play out, most miners departed for other prospects and, two years later, Fairview had become a ghost town.
By 1919,
the most exciting town in the West had vanished, although mining activity revived to some extent during the Great Depression and, between 1934 and 1939, 16,992 ounces of gold and 162,660 ounces of silver flowed from these hills. Essentially nothing remains of Fairview except several historical markers. The site of the Presbyterian Church has been marked, but is otherwise indistinguishable from the surroundings. Constructed at Fairview in 1899, it was moved to Okanagan Falls in 1929 and is affectionately known as
The Blasted Church for the method in which it was disassembled for transport (Hint - dynamite was involved). The wooden
Fairview Jail, the last remnant of Fairview, was moved to the Oliver Museum in 1981.
And today, really all that is left of
the most exciting town in the West is this little Folk Victorian cottage, once the home of prominent and respected judge James Robert Brown. Excerpts from a biography on the judge are below.
In excellent condition to this day, the Judge Brown Residence appears to remain essentially original, though only a small portion of the cedar shakes remain, the majority of the roof now clad in asphalt shingles. Woodwork that is visible also appears to be original. The grounds are surrounded by an unmortared rubble stone wall, about three feet in height.
Near the house is an artistic wooden sign which dates the building to 1902, which appears to be incorrect by five years (see below), and also indicates that the present owners refer to their home, very appropriately, as
Fairview House.
Judge James Robert Brown
J.R. Brown was Government Agent at Fairview, B.C. in the 1910s and 1920s. James Robert Brown (1854-1928) was born in Musselburgh, Scotland, the eldest son of John George Brown and Rebecca Monteith. Coming from a family of Scottish upper-class tradition he attended the University of Edinburgh after completing his high school education... In his mid-twenties, J.R. moved first to New Zealand where he took up sheep farming, then to Canada where he co-owned and managed a ranch on the prairies. Eventually he came to Vernon, B.C. where, at the age of thirty-nine he met and married Martha Elizabeth Sadler on April 5, 1893. As newlyweds they settled in Penticton where J.R. was part owner and manager of a livery stable. He also became a B.C. Police constable at this time...
... in July 1896, the family moved to Midway where J.R. was the constable. Their next move was to Osoyoos where, on July 21, 1897, he was appointed mining recorder for the Osoyoos Mining Division of Yale Electoral District, at a salary of seventy-five dollars a month...
That same year the family made their final move to the booming mining town of Fairview where J.R. was appointed tax assessor and collector under the direction of Government Agent, C.A.R. Lambley.
The Brown family house which J.R. built in 1897 still stands on its original site. On this plot of land he pursued his enjoyment of vegetable gardening and could be seen tending his crops in the early summer hours... When J.R. was appointed Government Agent after the death of C.A.R. Lambley the family moved from their little house on the hill to the larger government house... Back in 1895, J.R. had been given the position of Public Notary in the Yale Electoral District by Lieutenant-Governor Edgar Dewdney. However, it was his appointment in 1907 as Stipendiary Magistrate for the County of Yale that gave him the "Judge Brown" designation...
When the Government Agent office was moved to Penticton in 1921 J.R. was superannuated and the family moved back to their little house on the hill. For a time J.R. operated the Post Office for the Fairview residents. He continued to hold his position of deputy mining recorder until his death on Christmas Eve 1928. He passed away peacefully at his home.
J.R. Brown was a well respected man, admired and held in high esteem by the local Indians, early mining folk and settlers. As a provincial government employee for over thirty years he played an important role in the maintenance of the law and order in the Okanagan Valley and especially in Fairview.
From Memory BC
Judge Brown Residence
Description of Historic Place:
This property is located at 35060 131 St., west of the Town of Oliver (Legal Plan 6649) and consists of a dropped leaf siding Folk Victorian style house situated at 49 degrees, 10’ 31.0” N, 119 degrees, 35’ 35.4” W.
Heritage Value:
Colonization:
This home is the best preserved remnant of the former Town of Fairview, a community which developed at the end of the 19th Century to support mining activity prevalent in this part of Area C. It is to this community that many early settlers trace their arrival in the Southern Okanagan. The home was the residence of Judge Brown, who was prominent in the development of Oliver as the community was established, and reminds the community of the respect he garnered as an even, fair minded man in administering justice.
Economic:
As a reminder of the Town of Fairview, this home connects the viewer to not only mining, but to the development of ranching, fur trapping, and orcharding. It was because of settlement in Fairview that settlers became aware of the agriculture potential of the area.
Character-Defining Elements:
The appearance of a Folk Victorian style home as evidenced by:
- Pyramidal hipped roof with moderate slope
- Gingerbread accents on full width roofed wooden porch
- Hand hewn shakes
- Turned spindle porch supports
- Wide lintels and mullions on windows
From the RDOS Heritage Register