LARDEAU

LARDEAU
Is a community located in the Western boundaries of the Kootenay region of British Columbia, situated southeast of Revelstoke off of Highway #31. Lardeau (formerly spelled Lardo), was founded in the 1890s, as the site of a silver mining boom when at the same time that several small mining communities, such as Camborne, Trout Lake City, and Ferguson started to materialize. Lardeau also became the terminus of the Arrowhead & Kootenay Railway (n), when the railway line was functional as a point for steamships were used to serve the boom and it was also became a sufficient economic shot in the arm boom for the area and Lardeau had a peak population of about 1,000 people. The boom collapsed prior to the start of the First World War (WWI) when the railway was never completed in the course of Upper Arrow Lake, which forced the tracks to become deserted and pulled up in 1942. Lardeau is now unincorporated and forestry (mostly logging), and mixed farming serve as the community’s main benefactors for the economy. All of the communities in the Lardeau mining boom particularly Ferguson, Beaton and Camborne collapsed just after World War 2 (WWII) and quickly became instant ghost towns shortly after.

LARDEAU’S POPULATION: 62