ALDERMERE

ALDERMERE

Is a ghost town located on the foothills just above the modern community of Telkwa, 13 kilometers southeast of Smithers and off of the Yellowhead Highway. It was originally a farming community that was originally founded around 1904 and had several buildings including one hotel, a bank, and several stores. The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway considered putting a division point in the community but instead settled on Smithers. Aldermere is known notoriously for being Bulkley Valley’s earliest non-aboriginal settlement. Aldermere’s population began to decline, and because of this, most residents decided to move away to the new community of Telkwa, 1 kilometer west at the confluence of the Bulkley and Telkwa Rivers. After the First World War (WWI) ended and prior to the 1920s, Aldermere disappeared and suddenly became a residential neighborhood of Telkwa.