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 Stony Lake, popular for camping, fishing and hiking, lies southeast of Tumbler
Ridge, fifty-five kilometers by road via the Boundary Road (Heritage Highway
East). Its shores and surrounding area have been the scene of some of the most
intriguing history in northeastern British Columbia, such as its first tourist
resort and the discovery of natural gas in the province.
The Dinosaur Dicovery Gallery is currently under development, and will be open in time for the 2007 tourist season. It adjoins the Peace Region Palaeontology Research Centre. Exterior murals were created in the fall of 2006 following a donation from Ledcor.
  Our
Museum displays in the interim display area in the Community
Centre are
continually being improved, thanks to the
support of the District of Tumbler Ridge as well as the much
appreciated help of the Community Centre staff.
First to go up was the Wapiti Lake fossil fish display, donated
to us by the Tyrrell Museum. Next was the outdoor fossil display
on the balcony
- it contains amongst others a 152 pound dinosaur footprint
rock and a huge fossil cycad boulder donated by Murray Smith.
A photo and text display features the dinosaur discoveries
and a cabinet display contains a number of original Tumbler
Ridge dinosaur footprints as well as replicas of in situ
material. One shelf contains dinosaur material donated by the Royal Tyrell
Museum of Palaeontology.
  Above
this a framed text display highlights the fascinating conection
between the Tumbler Ridge dinosaur footprints and the "Wonder
of Water" and was developed in conjunction with the United
Nations International Year of Fresh Water.
In another corner of the Community Centre the highlights of
the phenomenal 2003 field season are featured, along with
another cabinet display with more dinosaur footprints, skin impressions,
starfish trace fossils, fossil corals etc.
Further cabinet displays include a feature on coal, a remarkable face carved
in a huge cottonwood tree, and important memorabilia from the early days of
Tumbler Ridge. Cabinets were donated by the Bullmoose and Quintette mines
and loaned by the Tumbler Ridge Health Centre.
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Tumbler Ridge Mayor
Clay Iles and the Honourable Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant
Governor of British Columbia, cut the ribbon to open
the Monkman Exhibit in 2004. |
In the spring of 2004 the substantial Monkman display was
unveiled. This showcases the heroic pioneer history in the
construction of the Monkman Pass Highway in
the late 1930s. It uses enlargements of many photos from the album of Ted
Chambers, with kind permission of the his son Dale Chambers and his
daughter Joan Jones. It covers a large previously unutilized wall in the Community
Centre. A plaque commemorates its official opening by the Honourable Iona
Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of BC, and Tumbler Ridge Mayor Clay Iles.
A pictorial display featuring the first generation of coal mining in Tumbler
Ridge was opened in December 2004, soon followed by an historic map display.
Thanks to a donation from Sci Tech North, an interactive touch-screen display
has been developed, featuring historic footage, dinosaur videos highlighting
the local discoveries, unique aerial footage of regional waterfalls, and much
more. Lake View Credit Union added to the significance of this exhibit by donating
funds to purchase a large wall screen.
A further five new exhibits were opened in 2005 in Rooms 4
and 5 of the Community Centre, focussing on pioneer history
and early exploration.
The intention is to create an enhanced atmosphere and new ambience in these rooms,
which are frequently used for meetings, and whose walls were previously bare.
The exhibits were developed at the request of Peter Thomas, Director of the Community
Centre.
Original photographs were scanned, enlarged to 40" x 32" size
and printed by Rich McCrea and Lisa Buckley, were mounted on foam core board
by Joan Zimmer, and were put up with the assistance of Community Centre staff.
Eight photos in the Fay exhibit depict this ground-breaking 1914 expedition,
and seven photos likewise portray the 1927 Gray expedition through what is now
the Tumbler Ridge area. The first 1914 settlers, the Peck family and Aunt Kate
Edwards, are celebrated through photographs, and the John Terry exhibit forms
a vital link between this distant age and the recent past.
The TRMF has been in contact with the descendants of these pioneers and explorers,
who are all delighted to see the memory of these pioneers celebrated
in this fashion.
In 2006 the Leake Exhibit was developed downstairs in the Community Centre, complementing the Monkman display upstairs. It features Monkman Pass Highway photographs taken by Reg Leake in the late 1930s.
The Tumbler Ridge Archives was developed in 2006, with plans for a formal opening in 2007. The Tumbler Ridge Sports Hall of Fame is being developed through 2007 (also downstairs ion the Community Centre).
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