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PLACE NAMES: Shutty Bench and Six Mile

Shutty Bench, a few kilometers north of Kaslo, was founded by Andrew Shutty and his son.
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Shutty Bench was named for the Shutty family

One-hundred seventy-eighth in an alphabetical series on West Kootenay/Boundary place names

According to Kaslo: The First 100 Years, Shutty Bench, a few kilometers north of the village, was “founded in 1898 by Andrew Shutty and his son Andrew Jr. The Shuttys landed on the beach and ventured half a mile up … They settled on this spot and built a log house.”

The family was from Podbiel, a village that is now part of northern Slovakia. Their surname was sometimes spelled Schuletty, and appeared that way on CPR timetables from at least 1923 to 1956.

Andrew Sr. (1847-1936) is not in evidence on the 1901 census, but Andrew Jr. (1879-1953) is shown working as a railway foreman on Slocan Lake along with George and Paul Shutty, whose exact relation are unclear.

In 1904, Andrew Sr. sent for his wife Mary (1862-1929) and their children, Sophia (1890-1980), John (1896-1932), and Mary. Andrew Jr. was their elder half-brother.

Soon after the Shuttys’ arrival on Kootenay Lake, a forest fire burned all of their benchland. They then surveyed and subdivided the land and sold it to other Slovaks including Joe Surina and John Mikulasik, as well as English settlers such as the Kemballs.

The earliest known mention of Shutty Bench is in the Nelson Daily News of Oct. 12, 1909: “The new wagon road north of Kaslo has been extended 2½ miles further towards the Shutty bench ranching district …”

Kaslo: The First 100 Years says “Some people called the area the British Bench, in spite of the large number of Slovak families and a few others like the Koehle brothers from Germany and a Danish settler.”

However, neither name appeared on the 1911 census. Instead, the Shutty family and 31 other people are shown living at a place called Rhonda or Ronda.

The Kaslo Kootenaian of March 30, 1911 said “Capt. [David] Richardson proposes to erect a handsome residence at The Cedars on Rhonda Beach. On April 6, the paper added that “Andy Shutty has the job of clearing 15 acres of fruit land for Robert Hendricks on Rhonda Beach.” And on April 20: “Work commenced Monday evening clearing the wagon road past Rhonda Beach, preparatory to starting the season's work of extension through that rapidly growing settlement.”

But on June 15, The Cedars was said to be “on Shutty Bench” while later that summer references appeared to Richardson’s Landing and Kemball’s Landing, but the name Rhonda was never used again. On the face of it, it appears to have simply been the beach directly below Shutty Bench, but who was Rhonda?

Four members of the pioneering Shutty family are buried in the Kaslo cemetery. They are also remembered in Shutty (or Schuletty) Creek.

Six Mile

In the sternwheeler era, Kootenay Lake’s north shore was demarcated in mile posts from the Nelson city wharf. Several of these survive as place names, including One Mile, Four Mile, Nine Mile, and Twelve Mile. (Thirteen Mile was renamed Longbeach.)

But the most prominent is Six Mile, also known as McDonalds Landing. Oddly, it isn’t recognized as a place name by the BC Geographical Names office, but Six Mile is a designated place on the census, and had a population in 2016 of 1,031 — greater than seven incorporated municipalities in West Kootenay/Boundary.

The Six Mile Lakes are at the head of Duhamel Creek, originally called Six Mile Creek, which was first mentioned in the Hot Springs News of Sept. 19, 1891.

The current name first appeared in the Nelson Tribune of April 24, 1897: “The Rufus Pope syndicate today secured a group of six claims on Duhamel creek …”

Henry Duhamel (1845-1910) and his son Joseph (1873-1930) received Crown grants that year for land along the creek.

Previous installments in this series

Introduction

Ainsworth

Alamo

Anaconda

Annable, Apex, and Arrow Park

Annable, revisited

Appledale

Applegrove, Appleby, and Appledale revisited

Argenta and Arrowhead

Aylwin

Bakers, Birds, and Bosun Landing

Balfour

Bannock City, Basin City, and Bear Lake City

Beasley

Beaton

Bealby Point

Bealby Point (aka Florence Park) revisited

Belford and Blewett

Beaverdell and Billings

Birchbank and Birchdale

Blueberry and Bonnington

Boswell, Bosworth, Boulder Mill, and Broadwater

Brandon

Brilliant

Brooklyn, Brouse, and Burnt Flat

Burton

Camborne, Cariboo City, and Carrolls Landing

Carmi, Cedar Point, Circle City, and Clark’s Camp

Carson, Carstens, and Cascade City

Casino and Champion Creek

Castlegar, Part 1

Castlegar, Part 2

Castlegar, Part 3

Christina Lake

Christina City and Christian Valley

Clubb Landing and Coltern

Cody and Champion Creek revisited

Champion Creek revisited, again

Columbia

Columbia City, Columbia Gardens, and Columbia Park

Comaplix

Cooper Creek and Corra Linn

Crawford Bay and Comaplix revisited

Crescent Valley and Craigtown

Davenport

Dawson, Deadwood, and Deanshaven

Deer Park

East Arrow Park and Edgewood

Eholt

English Cove and English Point

Enterprise

Erie

Evans Creek and Evansport

Falls City

Farron

Fauquier

Ferguson

Ferguson, revisited

Fife

Forslund, Fosthall, and Fairview

Fort Shepherd vs. Fort Sheppard, Part 1

Fort Shepherd vs. Fort Sheppard, Part 2

Fort Sheppard, revisited

Fraser’s Landing and Franklin

Fredericton

Fruitvale and Fraine

Galena Bay

Genelle

Gerrard

Gilpin and Glade

Gladstone and Gerrard, revisited

Glendevon and Graham Landing

Gloster City

Goldfields and Gold Hill

Grand Forks, Part 1

Grand Forks, Part 2

Granite Siding and Granite City

Gray Creek, Part 1

Gray Creek, Part 2

Gray Creek, revisited

Green City

Greenwood

Halcyon Hot Springs

Hall Siding and Healy’s Landing

Harrop

Hartford Junction

Hills

Howser, Part 1

Howser, Part 2

Howser, Part 3

Howser, Part 4

Hudu Valley, Huntingtdon, and Healy’s Landing revisited

Inonoaklin Valley (aka Fire Valley)

Jersey, Johnsons Landing, and Jubilee Point

Kaslo, Part 1

Kaslo, Part 2

Kaslo, Part 3

Kaslo, Part 4

Kettle River, Part 1

Kettle River, Part 2

Kinnaird, Part 1

Kinnaird, Part 2

Kitto Landing

Koch Siding and Keen

Kokanee

Kootenay Bay, Kraft, and Krestova

Kuskonook, Part 1

Kuskonook, Part 2

Kuskonook (and Kuskanax), Part 3

Labarthe, Lafferty, and Longbeach

Lardeau, Part 1

Lardeau, Part 2

Lardeau, Part 3

Lardeau, Part 4

Lebahdo

Lemon Creek, Part 1

Lemon Creek, Part 2

Lemon Creek, Part 3

Makinsons Landing and Marblehead

McDonalds Landing, McGuigagren, and Meadow Creek

Meadows, Melville, and Miles’ Ferry

Midway

Mineral City and Minton

Mirror Lake and Molly Gibson Landing

Montgomery and Monte Carlo, Part 1

Montgomery and Monte Carlo, Part 2

Montrose and Myncaster

Nakusp, Part 1

Nakusp, Part 2

Nashville

Needles

Nelson, Part 1

Nelson, Part 2

Nelson, Part 3

Nelson, Part 4

Nelson, Wash.

Nelway and New Galway

New Denver, Part 1

New Denver, Part 2

Niagara

Oasis and Oatescott

Ootischenia

Oro

Park Siding and Pass Creek

Passmore

Paterson

Paulson

Perry Siding

Phoenix

Pilot Bay

Pingston

Playmor Junction

Poplar and Porcupine

Porto Rico and Pottersville

Poupore, Powder Point, and Power’s Camp

Procter, Part 1

Procter, Part 2

Queens Bay, Rambler, and Raspberry

Remac and Renata

Retallack

Rhone and Rideau

Riondel

Ritaville, Riverside I, Riverside II, and Rivervale

Robson and Rock Creek

Rosebery and Ross Spur

Rossland, Part 1

Rossland, Part 2

St. Leon and Rosebery, revisited

Salmo

Salmon Rapids

Sandon, Part 1

Sandon, Part 2

Sayward

Seaton

Sheep Creek

Shields, Shirley, and Shoreholme

Shoreacres