History: Gordon Bell was an engineer from Saskatchewan who had a vision to develop the property after the sawmill closed. The originally town had been abandoned. Gordon Bell purchased the lakeshore in 1956 and started the Three Valley Gap Heritage Town in 1961. In the early years, he and his family drove out from Saskatchewan for weekends to undertake construction. Gordon was obviously a determined man with both vision, ability and business sense. When he got a quote for hydro electric power to Three Valley Gap, he decided it was too expensive. So he built his own dam and power plant instead. He also built his own firehall.