
To the people of British Columbia’s Boundary Country he was known as “Volcanic” Brown; to those of the Similkameen he was “Sunset” Brown. Prospector, herbalist, “founder” of Volcanic City — and killer— Robert Allan Brown became a living legend. The air of mystery which swirled about him throughout his lifetime remains to this day, a veil made all the more tantalizing by his disappearance and possible discovery of the province’s most sought-after lost mine.
A 50-year-old account describes the early part of Brown’s incredible career. He prospected for gold in Nova Scotia. He led 15,000 lumberjacks in a strike in the woods of Ontario, and in two weeks obtained from their employers satisfaction of their demands. He prospected the Lake of the Woods in Ontario and made a rich strike. Then he prospected the Idaho, but returned to Canada to follow the CPR on its trek to the Pacific, prospecting the country on both sides of the line. The Cariboo “rush” had been followed by gold discoveries in the Big Bend of the Columbia, 60 miles above Revelstoke.
With 500 others Brown headed for Big Bend. Not liking what he saw there he dismissed the region’s potential as a rich gold producer. Few listened to him; some rudely dubbed him crazy. Nonplussed, he carved a dugout canoe from a cedar log and drifted down-river to Washington, where he prospected and trapped until he turned up in the Boundary Country. There, eight miles north of Grand Forks, he saw a big red-capped mountain, which he recognized as being capped with the ‘iron hat’ of the miner. He located there his first claim in 1885, and called it the Volcanic.

Ever the optimist, he founded Volcanic City and reserved half of it as a site for the “hundreds of smelters” which, he declared, would be needed to treat the ore. No fewer than six railways would serve the metropolis of Volcanic City and transport the mountain’s treasure of gold, silver and copper. With his anticipated millions, Brown proposed to eliminate poverty by sharing his wealth with the masses, and to eliminate banks and churches. (Well-known as a herbalist, Brown once claimed to have a cure for tuberculosis.)
Despite his grand dreams, few of those in the mining profession questioned Brown’s judgement. When he announced his discovery of the rich mountain, his name spread far and wide. An American company bonded (Brown’s property). The Oliver Mining & Smelting Co. was organized with a capital of $20,000,000. All looked favorable for a realization of Brown’s plans and dreams. Much to his disappointment. Volcanic Mountain did not live up to his expectations. Worse, resulting litigation cost him $65,000. And Volcanic City, proposed Boundary metropolis with its smelters and railways, never even made it to the drawing board. Only Brown’s hard-won tunnel, which reached all of 800 feet into the heart of the mountain, showed for his dreams.
He also had become involved in the Sunset Mine on Copper Mountain, which, unlike the Volcanic, was the end of the rainbow for Brown. He easily sold shares by the thousands to an eager buying public, including his own employees. Ironically, he was close to the mark. Copper Mountain became one of the greatest Canadian copper producers. However, continuing legal troubles drained his finances and he sold out for a fraction of the Sunset’s eventual worth. Nevertheless, Brown must have been reasonably content, as he celebrated by ordering a specially-made set of false teeth — of almost solid gold.
