Partner City

Castlegar

Canada's Doukhobor Heartland


At the confluence of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers is a broad fertile valley surrounded by the towering peaks of the Kootenay Mountains. The rivers were a highway for Indigenous peoples for millennia, and when Europeans arrived in the late 1800s they built steamers to navigate the winding rivers. Abundant mineral deposits attracted mining and industry to the region in the early 20th Century, but that's not what attracted the Doukhobors to the region. The Doukhobors are a pacifist Christian sect who came to Canada around the turn of the last century, fleeing persecution in Tsarist Russia. They wanted to be left alone by the state, to farm peacefully and live peaceful communal lifestyles. They were led to the Castlegar area by Peter 'Lordly' Verigin, where they established dozens of small farming settlements, called doms, especially on the east side of the Columbia River, an area they named Ootischenia. They planted fruit orchards and set up a jam factory at Brilliant, which is the subject of our walking tour. Though few Doukhobors continue to live communally in the doms around Castlegar, they've left a lasting legacy on the region, and their stories are preserved today by the Doukhobor Discovery Centre in Ootischenia.

This project is a partnership with the Doukhobor Discovery Centre.

We respectfully acknowledge that Castlegar is located on the traditional meeting grounds, gathering places, and traveling routes of the Sinixt (Lakes), the Syilx (Okanagan), the Ktunaxa, and the Secwepemc (Shuswap) peoples.

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 Castlegar

Then and Now Photos

A View of Brilliant


A View of Brilliant A View of Brilliant
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1923

A view of the prosperous community of Brilliant showing the jam factory (far right), the train station (bottom right corner) orchards, and the sawmill (at far left on the opposite side of the river).

Procession to the Tomb


Procession to the Tomb Procession to the Tomb
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Patsy Popoff

1924

A huge funeral procession of Doukhobors carrying banners, walk up the road to Peter Verigin's tomb to lay the great figure to rest.

Doukhobor Workers


Doukhobor Workers Doukhobor Workers
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Nick Ozeroff

1932

A Doukhobor work crew, including men, women, and children, take a rest from farming on Brilliant's meadow.

Castlegar Theatre


Castlegar Theatre Castlegar Theatre
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Trail City Archives

1948

Castlegar's Theatre, which opened in 1947.

Columbia Avenue


Columbia Avenue Columbia Avenue
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Trail City Archives

1948

A woman pushes a stroller across Columbia Avenue, in this view of Castlegar's main street shortly after the Second World War. The building at left has survived, albeit in a heavily renovated fashion.

A Car on the Bridge


A Car on the Bridge A Car on the Bridge
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1956

A car drives on to the Brilliant Suspension Bridge. Built in 1913 by the Doukhobor community, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1995.


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