In 1929, the East Creston Irrigation District constructed a pipe network to supply drinking and irrigation water from Arrow Creek to parts of Creston and Erickson.

East Creston Irrigation District amalgamated with the Erickson Irrigation District in 1981, becoming the Erickson Improvement District.

In 2020, the District was taken over by the RDCK.

Through all those changes, the mission remained the same: to provide a reliable supply of water to the households and orchards of Erickson and the eastern part Creston.

For over thirty years, beginning in 1955, the man responsible for the management and maintenance of the water intake and the entire piping network was Maury Murphy.

Maury, in addition to his work with the Irrigation District, operated the farm in Erickson that has been in his family now for nearly a century.

In 1967, he and neighbour Tony Holder bought an entire machinist’s set-up from the recently closed Mineral King mine near Invermere. It includes a belt-driven lathe, drill press, metal shaper and overhead driveshaft with belt and pulley system.

The equipment was old, even then – the lathe, for example, was manufactured about 1915 – but it served its purpose well. With it, Maury not only maintained the buildings and equipment on his farm but also maintained and serviced the irrigation network.

Now that Maury has retired and moved into an assisted-living facility, he and his family have offered the entire machinist’s set-up to the Creston Museum.

We are launching a $75,000 program to refurbish and install the equipment in a purpose-built building, where it will showcase the role of machinists in building and maintaining tools and equipment necessary for the community and supporting mining, forestry and agricultural industries.

Our long-term plan is to  refurbish the equipment and install it in working order. Ultimately, we may even be able to have weekend demonstrations. Your donation will help us get there!