Daniel Robert Campbell

Dates: b. Ontario, 1861, d. 1936

Cemetery Location: Block E, Row 1, Plot 61

Profile:

Daniel and Margaret Campbell (nee McQuat) came to British Columbia in 1889, settling first in Beavermouth, where Dan worked for the local sawmill. In 1904, Dan, Maggie and their five children: Arthur, Percy, Leslie, Gladys and Gordon, moved to Revelstoke, settling at first in the Big Eddy.

In 1907, Dan purchased 51 acres east of Revelstoke on a bench overlooking the town. He built a homestead and barns, and established a small mixed farm with dairy cows, pigs, fruits and vegetables. By 1920, Daniel and sons Arthur and Leslie realized the potential for a dairy in Revelstoke. Their business, the Hillcrest Dairy, supplied the city with milk until around 1960.

After Dan’s death in 1936, Arthur and Leslie became partners in the business, which they expanded through the purchase of adjoining properties. By 1954, the farm (primarily all dairying at this point) had grown to 365 acres.

When the Trans-Canada Highway, which opened in 1962, bisected the property, it was no longer profitable to run the dairy business, and it was sold. (Parts of the property were sold for the Johnson Heights and KOA developments.) Hillcrest Hotel sits on land once owned by the Campbell family.

Mrs. Margaret Campbell and family, c. 1898.