WARDNER

Wardner’s population: 195

Wardner is a small community located on the Crowsnest branch of the Canadian Pacific Railway, 35 kilometres southeast of Cranbrook, but off of the Crowsnest Highway (Highway #3).

During the 2nd and 3rd decades of the 1900s, the Crowsnest Pass Lumber Company operated a large sawmill and business here boomed. It had several amentities including hotels, schools, post office, and golf course. Unfortunately fires in the 1930s, highway improvements in the late-1940s and closing of the mill in 1962 due to lack of timber, forced the once-booming town to eventually lose most of its population to other popular centers in the region like Fernie and Cranbrook.

Construction of the Libby Dam in Montana in 1973, which in turn created Lake Koocanusa, the railway had no choice but to re-route their tracks through Fort Steele. Furthermore, the highway also had to be re-routed on a bridge over the Kootenay River in 1970 to prevent flooding. As a result, many passing motorists often will bypass Wardner on their way to either Cranbrook or Fernie as Wardner is about 2 kilometres south off the highway. Although Wardner remained unscathed to some extent, many nearby communities weren't so lucky as they were completely flooded; among them were Waldo and Krag.

The Libby Dam was built as a joint venture between Canada and the United States for two reasons 1) to eliminate spring flooding of the Kootenay River and 2) to provide hydroelectric power.

Wardner is named after James Wardner, a railway and mining industries promoter who founded many cities in Canada and the United States including that of Wardner, Idaho.

Lake Koocanusa's name comes from a concatenation of the first three letters for KOOtenay River, CANada, plus USA. It was named in a contest won by a resident of Rexford, Montana.