Rusty

Since Edgar Dewdney mapped a route through the Rossland Range in 1865, Rossland has had a close relationship with horses. Prospectors with their pack horses travelled the 720km Dewdney Trail between Fort Hope and Fort Steele in search of gold.  Mining camps and small towns sprung up along the route. Claims staked on the slopes of Red Mountain in 1890 led to a gold rush and the town of Rossland was born.

By 1893, horses were being used to haul materials and supplies along the wagon road between the growing townsite of Rossland, and Trail Creek Landing.  The first shipment of Rossland ore was delivered to Trail in a horse drawn cart in 1895. In 1895, it took two weeks to travel on horseback between Rossland and Vancouver using the Dewdney Trail. Horses are clearly an important part of Rossland’s heritage

Rusty, the nearly life-sized horse sculpture, is the work of Nelson artist Cedar Mueller who grew up riding and spending time with horses. Created from scavenged scrap metal, Rusty greets Rosslanders and visitors with head down and one forelock and hoof raised, evidence of the artist’s familiarity with horses.

Rusty was to be the first of a series of temporary sculptures to be exhibited in our freshly renovated downtown core. Rossland Council for Arts and Culture (RCAC) acquired the sculpture on a one-year lease. While the intention was that Rusty would be a temporary visitor to the city, many Rosslanders grew attached to him. Through community fundraising, the RCAC was able to purchase Rusty and he continues to graze at the corner of Columbia Avenue and Queen Street to this day.