Standard Dairy

Mrs. McKinnon couldn’t bear the thought of losing her home. Her son made sure that it was moved to higher ground when they were forced off of their farm.

Delia Morgan married Hector McKinnon in 1906, and in 1916 they purchased five acres of land in Revelstoke, near the Columbia River. Delia insisted that the farmhouse have running water and electricity.

A black-and-white photograph showing haying in the field. Two horses are on the right. Three men holding pitchforks are gathering hay with a pile of hay behind them. On the left of the photograph, a woman sits at the wheel of a tractor.

Haying in the field with a horse team and tractor on the McKinnon farm, ca. 1940. RMA photo 7124.

The McKinnons acquired more land and started Standard Dairy.

Hector McKinnon also had business interests in Revelstoke and served as Mayor for several terms. He died in a tragic fire in the barn on an adjoining farm in 1929, while still in office as Mayor. Delia and their children continued to run the farm, expanding it until it reached 100 acres along the Columbia River up to the Illecillewaet River. Their dairy herd was up to 224 Holsteins at its peak.

A grey-scale aerial view photograph of a farm showing the buildings on the farm and the surrounding fields.

Arial View of McKinnon Farm and Standard Dairy, ca. 1950s. RMA photo 7140.

Standard Dairy was purchased by BC Hydro.

The corporation never publicly discussed payments but BC Hydro’s Columbia News Letter of June 7, 1966, refuted a story in the Vancouver Sun that BC Hydro offered James McKinnon $100,000 for his dairy business and later raised the offer to $227,000. The newsletter did not give the purchase price but made it clear that it was nowhere near $100,000.

A bulldozer is driving across a river, with a tow rope attached to a large Apex Moving Company truck which is also driving across the river. On the flatbed of the truck is a two-storey log farmhouse. The shore and distant mountains are visible in the background.

McKinnon log house being moved on trailer, ca. 1967. RMA photo 7145.

The McKinnons had other land in Revelstoke and moved their original farmhouse and one of the barns to their new property.

This was not an easy feat. The buildings had to cross the Illecillewaet River, and the large moving truck drove each building right through the river, assisted by a bulldozer at the front.

Delia McKinnon’s beloved home still stands on Nichol Road, in the Arrow Heights subdivision of Revelstoke.

A colour photograph of a two-story log house with two large trees in front. A car and truck sit in front of the house.

McKinnon house, now on Nichol Road, ca. 2020. Photographer: Holly Rosenberger.

All the Way to Revelstoke They Called it “Negotiation”