From the top of Phoenix Mountain (1105 m (3627 ft)) there is a fine view to be had of Grand Forks (516 m (1693 ft)) situated in the broad and sunny Sunshine Valley at the confluence of Kettle River and Granby River. The first cattle-breeders settled in the area at the end of the 19th c., and in 1894 the little town of Grand Forks was founded. During the mining boom three smelting plants were built in the town, and dark slag-heaps remain as a reminder. Granby Mine ran one of the largest of such plants in the British Empire here, with a daily capacity of up to 5000 tons.
Together with fruit and vegetable growing, the paper factories and slag-processing plants today constitute the main industries, and modern Grand Forks boasts excellent potato crops. A large number of wooden buildings in the Victorian style bear witness to the former wealth of this little town; for example, various buildings at "Golden Heights" can be visited in the course of the Heritage Home Tour.
Conspicuous in the townscape and surrounding countryside are several sizeable dwelling-houses. They were built early in the 20th c. by the Doukhobors, members of a spiritualist sect formed in Russia in the 18th c. under the influence of the Quakers. After suffering persecution in Russia they came to Canada in 1898 and to Grand Forks in 1909. About one thousand of them lived in large communal dwellings each housing up to 35 or 40 people, built a saw-mill and began to irrigate the land and plant fruit trees.
Mountain View Doukhobor Museum on Hardy Road, 5 km (3 mi.) to the north-west gives an insight into the beliefs and lives of this group of people, whose influence can still be felt in the town's restaurants. On the first week-end in August each year the "Sunshine & Borschtsch Festival" is celebrated.
20 km (13 mi.) further east Highway 3 crosses the U.S. 395; 207 km (129 mi.) down the latter road lies the town of Spokane in the U.S. state of Washington.
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