ENDERBY

Enderby is a small riverfront city, perched along Highway #97A and located in the North Okanagan Valley. It is also situated approximately halfway between Vernon and Salmon Arm, alongside the banks of the Shuswap River, about 13 kilometers north of Armstrong.

Known previously as Lambley’s Landing and Belvedere, Enderby was first settled in 1866 by Alexander Leslie Fortune who bought, settled, and took up land here near a bend in the Shuswap River. Fortune also became the first Caucasian settler to live in the North Okanagan Valley. To commemorate this, its name was then changed to Fortune’s Landing shortly afterward. Fortune’s land soon became an ideal sternwheeler landing for paddlewheel ships from Kamloops in order to ship supplies to the Okanagan Valley. The town began to grow in the early-1900s when tracks for the Okanagan and Shuswap Railroad were laid and soon after, Enderby, had a sawmill and a flour mill open for business.

Enderby today is named by its present-day name, after a place of the same name that is mentioned in several paragraphs of the famous Jean Ingelow-written poem “High Tide on the Coast of Lincolnshire”. This poem tells the story of a flood that happened in 1571 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.

Villagers were then saved from the rising waters by church bells playing the tune “The Brides of Enderby” that was used as an evacuation alarm to warn the people of the town.

Here’s a paragraph of this poem:

The old mayor climbed the belfry tower,
The ringers ran by two, by three;
Pull, if ye never pulled before;
Good ringers, pull your best,” quoth he
“Play uppe, play uppe, O Boston bells!
Ply all your changes, all your swells,
Play uppe, ‘The Brides of Enderby’

The story of why it is called “Enderby” isn’t really clear but one theory is that in 1887 during an afternoon tea party with some ladies, the Spallumcheen River (now known as the Shuswap River) began to overflow its banks. This is when one of the ladies, Mrs. Henry Oliver became inspired to recite the aforementioned and popular poem.

One of only a few communities with a population of smaller than 3,000 people that are actually considered to be a city, Enderby has many recreational activities including recreational boating, golfing, and many great hiking trails.

Incorporated officially as a city in 1905, its major industries include that of farming activities, such as cattle ranching and dairy farming, in addition to small-scale lumber manufacturing.

Highly regarded as the original inhabitants to Enderby, the Spallumcheen Indian Band, a branch of the Secwepemc (Shuswap) First Nations, have lived in the Enderby area for well over 10,000 years to fish and hunt near the banks of the Shuswap River.

FOREST GROVE

FOREST GROVE

Is a small community located in the South Cariboo region of British Columbia.

The community is known as an outskirt to 100 Mile House, due to the fact that 100 Mile House is located just 10 minutes southwest.

The Forest Grove General Store features everything a typical grocery store can sell including groceries, lottery tickets, video rentals, and even an in-store bakery and a café.

Forest Grove is named after the town of the same name in Oregon, where Oliver Phillips, an early settler came from.

Theresa Luke, a rower, who won a silver medal at woman’s 8-Rowing during the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia back in 1996, is originally from Forest Grove. Ranching and recreational activities contribute to the economy of Forest Grove, which is unincorporated which also attracts a number of retirees who enjoy the community’s stress-free as well as its relaxing, and laid-back atmosphere as well as its enjoyable and pleasant climate it endures year-round. There are also numerous lakes in the surrounding area to relax and enjoy including Ruth, Canim, Buffalo, Mahood, Hendrix, and Hawkins and travelers can also approach Wells Gray Provincial Park, British Columbia’s second- largest provincial park from here.          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Forest Grove’s population: 331

NAKUSP

Nakusp is a village overlooking the east side of Upper Arrow Lake in southeastern British Columbia, about halfway between Revelstoke and Castlegar.

Coming from an Okanagan First Nations word for “closed in” or “come together”, referring to where Upper Arrow Lake closes in or narrows, Nakusp was established in 1893 as a western stop on the Nakusp and Slocan Railway and in the process, giving Nakusp the distinction of a major shipping and transport center for ore deposits. However, this did happen because shipments of ore were discovered more south redirected through the lakes of Slocan and Kootenay and were shipped to smelters at Nelson and Trail, respectively. The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) continued to preserve a shipbuilding business in the community, and even after 1915, continued to serve restricted service until 1954.

Since the early 1900s, logging and fruit growing, and some small-scale mining have contributed to the wealth of Nakusp. For the reason that Nakusp Hot Springs, a small community-owned health resort, north of the community, Nakusp is fast becoming one of British Columbia’s key tourist destinations.

Nakusp first became a village in 1964.

Nakusp’s population: 1,736

ROCK CREEK

ROCK CREEK

Is a small and unincorporated community, located 19 kilometers west of Midway on the Kettle River at the junction of Highways #3 (Crowsnest Highway) and 129-kilometer long Highway #33.

Rock Creek was the site of a gold rush from the Dewdney Trail era from 1860-1861 and at that time, the community boomed with hotels and saloons.

After the gold rush, the prospectors and gold miners left for the gold rush in the Cariboo in 1862. However, mining continued until the 1930s. When it became a materialized permanent settlement in the 1880s and in the early 1900s, Rock Creek then became a center for agriculture activity especially for growing different varieties of fruit including apples.

In the community today travelers will find a general store, 2 gas stations, convenience store, trading post, pub, hotel and café.

Rock Creek’s population: 318

FOUNTAIN

Fountain is an unincorporated rural area and First Nations reserve, about 22 kilometers north of Lillooet on Highway #99 in the semi-arid, Fountain Valley. Fountain lies at the southern apex of the double horseshoe-shaped bend at the Fraser Canyon of where both of the Fraser and Yalakom Faults meet. Both of these faults created the Fountain ridge, which rises above the community and forms a natural wall between it and the town of Lillooet. The climate of Fountain is extremely desert-like with temperatures that are slightly warmer and hotter than that of Lillooet’s that exceed almost 35 degrees Celcius. Known vegetation is Ponderosa Pine, Cacti, Sagebrush and tumbleweed. Fountain is referred to the huge fountain-like rapids that cut a creek and a small flat into a deep gulch and then cascade into the Fraser River below.

FOUNTAIN’S POPULATION: 165

NEW DENVER

NEW DENVER

Is a small incorporated community positioned on the shores of beautiful Slocan Lake, about 48 kilometers south of Nakusp in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia.

First established in 1892 by numerous miners and entrepreneurs, it was originally known as El Dorado in the hopes that the gold in the area would make it rich, as the El Dorado of the same name in Colorado, (the legendary city of gold). However, it wasn’t meant to be as both silver and lead were found to be the strength of the economy, and it was re-named after another city in Colorado; Denver. It has been said that both New Denver and Denver, Colorado share the same geographic characteristics. During the 1890s, it became a service for the surrounding areas around the Sandon area. 

The Silvery Slocan Museum recalls the Slocan Mining boom heyday with artifacts and collections that are well over 100 years old. Located in downtown this museum is a heritage building and was at one time (from 1897 to 1969 to be exact), a bank

With the silver mining boom taken place here during the early 1900s, New Denver soon became the service center for the surrounding Slocan mining boom and once had a population of about 2,000 residents. With the mining soon collapsing after the First World War (WWI), which left the community with no real economic benefactor, New Denver almost achieved the status of being another British Columbia ghost town.

During World War 2 (WWII), and the attack of Japan invading the Hawaiian town of Pearl Harbour, many Japanese Canadians (about 2,000 of them) were interned here from the coast. Many of them still live in New Denver to this very day. A remembrance of this period is told in a couple of memorials in town dedicated to many of the internees.

Today, some small-scale mining, logging, and tourism have helped New Denver economically survive and prosper.

Highway #31A, a minor 47-kilometer-long east-west route connects New Denver with Highway #6 via passing through several ghost towns in the process (Three Forks, Sandon, and Retallack etc.) east towards its end with Kaslo.  While Highway #6 south goes from New Denver south towards Silverton, Nelson, Salmo and eventually the Canada/United States border crossing at the tiny hamlet of Nelway, while Highway #6 north on the other hand goes from here to communities such as Nakusp and Lumby before reaching its western end at the city of Vernon.

After its population declined, New Denver became incorporated as a village in 1929, despite a population of fewer than 600 residents.

       

New Denver’s population: 512

LAC LA HACHE

LAC LA HACHE

Is a small ranching and retirement community along Highway #97, 26 kilometers north of 100 Mile House in the Cariboo region. Known as the “longest town in the Cariboo”, this community began as a stopping place on the Cariboo Wagon Road on the way to Barkerville, during the Cariboo Gold Rush days of the 1860s. The community is named after a fur trader who dropping his axe into the lake and is known in French translation as “Axe Lake” There area several lodges around the vicinity of the area including Kokanee Bay, Lac La Hache Provincial Park, Fircrest Resort, Crystal Springs, as well as Mount Timothy Ski Resort.

LAC LA HACHE’S POPULATION: 245

ERICKSON

ERICKSON

Is a small unincorporated community located just 4 kilometers east of downtown Creston and in a wide, fertile valley.

Named after E.G. Erickson, a superintendent of the Canadian Pacific Railway at Cranbrook for 4 years from 1904 to 1908.

Because of the surrounding valley’s continental climate where the community is located in, Erickson has a number of fruit stands that line Highway #3 and because of this agriculture is a suitable economic activity here.

 Erickson’s population: 456

TRAIL

TRAIL

^{Trail is a small-sized city, straddled on the Columbia River, 18 kilometers north of United States border and 28 kilometers south of Castlegar in the southeast corner of British Columbia.}

^{Founded in 1890 by Colonel Eugene Topping and Frank Hanna as a landing for steamboats where it was used as a shipping point for ore mined from the Le Roi Mine in nearby Rossland, to be shipped here to smelters at the Montana town of Butte. In 1896, American entrepreneur F.A. Heinze opened an ore smelter above the townsite to treat and extract ore from the mines at Rossland. A couple of years, just before the First World War (WWI), The Canadian Pacific Railway bought the smelter and later combining it to form the Consolidating Mining and Smelting Company (later Cominco and now Teck Resources).}

^{The smelter than became the largest non–ferrous smelting operation in the world, as well as making the entire Kootenay region, of where the city of Trail is located, economically dependant on the Cominco operations. Producing over 700,000 tonnes of concentrate a year, Teck Resources also conducts tours of this smelter to visitors as well. There are exhibits and video presentations describing the methods and practice of mining exploration.}

^{Trail is known for its sporting and Italian heritage and in fact, in 2005 Trail was named British Columbia’s number one sports town with athletes such as, Jason Bay (baseball player), Ray Ferraro (hockey player), Barrett Jackman (hockey player) have lived here past and present.}

The city is also home to the Trail Smoke Eaters, a British Columbia Junior Hockey League team who play their games at the Trail Memorial Centre (also known as the Cominco Arena), a 2,537 seat multi-purpose facility. There have been 2 variations of this hockey team. They started out in 1926 as a senior team and won many championships including 2 World Ice Hockey Championships and have won more championships in the senior level than any other team in Canada.

^{The junior version of this hockey team has been around since 1969, however unlike the senior team, haven’t seen that much success although it did win championships in the KIJHL (Kootenay International Junior Hockey League) 4 different times. They officially became a member of the British Columbia Hockey League in 1995 after a 4 year existence in the now-defunct Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League. The history of hockey in Trail is told in the Sports Hall of Memories and on a mural, both located at the vicinity of the arena.}

^{During the summer months, the city of Trail often enjoys a hot and dry summer with temperatures that can exceed 35 degrees Celsius. The reason for this dry and year-round climate is that Trail is located on lower-level elevation (about 440 meters above sea level) compared to places such as Rossland, as well as the Beaver Valley areas of Montrose and Fruitvale, (whom receive more precipitation especially in the winter they receive a heavier amount of snow), are more higher up. Despite this, Trail still can receive a fair dusting of winter snowfall. In addition, it is common for Trail to receive an occasional thunderstorm that can often originate from the south, from the Spokane Valley area into the valley during the spring and summer months. During the fall months of late-September, October and November, a cold air inversion brings thick, dense and heavy fog into the city during the overnight and morning hours of the day and can last all day.}

^{Trail became incorporated as a city on July 14, 1901 and is named after nearby Trail Creek which in turn is named after the famous Dewdney Trail, a 747-kilometre long trail that originates in Hope and ends at Wild Horse Creek, near Fort Steele where it was a factor in powering the new colony of British Columbia in the 1860s, moreover it also helped construct mining towns and small towns during the Gold Rush era during the same time. Today, most of the trail (about 80% of it precisely) has been incorporated into today’s version of the Crowsnest Highway (Highway #3).}

   

TRAIL’S POPULATION: 7,696

VALEMOUNT

VALEMOUNT

Is a small community located in the northeast sector of the province of British Columbia, at the north end of Kinbasket Lake, 278 kilometers east of Prince George and along Highway #5 (Yellowhead Highway). The community is surrounded by beautiful scenery, as well as 3 mountain ranges; the Cariboo, Monashee, and Rocky. Valemount began as a Canadian National Railway station in 1927 and used to be known as Swift Creek and has become one of British Columbia’s prime and major tourist and recreation destinations because of its close location to both of Jasper and Robson National Park. At an elevation of 3,954 meters (12,972) Mount Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies and the second largest of British Columbia behind that of Mount Fairweather near the Alaska/British Columbia borders. Logging is playing a huge roll in Valemount’s economy, which was incorporated as a village in 1962 and is named for its location in the mountains (vale amid the mountains). Vale is also another word for wide river valley.

VALEMOUNT’S POPULATION: 1,081

BOSTON BAR

Boston Bar is an unincorporated village, located 66 kilometers north of Hope in the Fraser Canyon, just east of the Fraser River.

Boston Bar dates back to the days of the 1858 Gold Rush. It was established as a mining camp near the Nlaka’pamux (Thompson) village of Quayome, just west across the Fraser River from the present location of where Boston Bar sits today. It was at this time that Boston Bar became a stopover point for fur traders and miners heading north to Barkerville in search for gold.

The term “Boston Bar” comes from the local first nations people who referred the miners as “Boston men”. The miners came to British Columbia by ship from America’s east coast (mainly from the Massachusetts area) to mine gold in the river’s sandbar during the Gold Rush.

When construction of the Canadian Pacific Railways in 1885, Boston Bar moved to its new site east across the river and the old site became known as North Bend. From 1940 until 1986 an aerial tramway originally crossed the Fraser River to and from North Bend until was it replaced by a new bridge, the Cog Harrington Bridge.

Since the Coquihalla Highway from Kamloops to Hope via Merritt was first opened to traffic in 1986, Boston Bar has since seen a steady decrease in population.

In North Bend, tourists will find a cemetery that commemorates the original Boston Bar settlement. Also a park in Boston Bar near the Pig's Ear Saloon/Charles Hotel property, commemorates the history of both the North Bend and Boston Bar communities, along with a story of the aerial ferry.

As tourists or travelers drive from Boston Bar to Yale, 42 kilometers south, there are 7 tunnels in the Fraser Canyon that drivers and travelers alike will encounter. Constructed in the 1950s, as part of a highway project through the Fraser Canyon, the tunnels are China Bar, Ferrabee, Hell’s Gate, Alexandria, Sailor Bar, Saddle Rock, and Yale. At 610 meters long, the China Bar Tunnel is one of North America’s longest tunnels while the Hells’ Gate Tunnel (101 metres long) is the only tunnel that does not have lights.

Despite being an unincorporated community, Boston Bar offers many worthwhile and sufficient amounts of amenities for travellers. This includes 2 gas stations, accommodations, restaurants, bowling alley and a library. It is serviced by Greyhound's passenger and frieght service. It also serves as a gateway to several recreational areas including Blue Lake and the Nahatlatch River and the Mehatl Valley.

Boston Bar's population: 601

RICHMOND

RICHMOND

Is a large city, located at the southwestern end of Fraser River, right south of Vancouver.

Part of the Metro Vancouver area, its history and origins date back to 1862, when Hugh McRoberts purchased a farm and doing so he named the property, Richmond View, after a town in his native Australia (however it is unclear which one it is since there are about 5 Richmonds in Australia). During the late 1800s, a salmon cannery opened in the neighboring community of Steveston and at its pinnacle, it had 49 canneries and by the 1950s, also attracted many Japanese Canadians. In 1889, Richmond was connected to the mainland by a bridge (The Marpole Bridge, replaced in 1957, by the Arthur Laing Bridge) and when the 20^th century began, it was linked with other communities by a railway link.

The Vancouver International Airport, located in Richmond on Sea Island, opened in 1931 and has since become the biggest airport of all of western Canada, in terms of handling both domestic and international flights.

After the Second World War (WWII), many Chinese immigrants began to inhabit a large portion of Richmond’s population and because of this Aberdeen Center, built in 1990, became the first of several shopping centers to cater to the Chinese community.

Richmond’s climate is similar to that of Vancouver’s, but receives less amounts of rain (about 30% less to be exact than Vancouver), due to it been further located away from the mountains than Vancouver, although during the winter months, most of the precipitation falling in Richmond more the form of snow and is more vulnerable to fog because of its location near the ocean and the Fraser River. On the other hand though, the summer months, however are more are more milder and warmer with temperatures that exceed +20 degrees Celsius  (sometimes +30 but very rare).

In the 1950s, most of the land was protected from outpouring of flooding by a system of dykes due to the city being close to a delta and thus preventing the city from being especially susceptible and prone to massive flooding in particular when the ocean and river are both at high tide.

Richmond is considered a suburb of Vancouver and with neighborhoods such as Lulu Island, Burkeville, Sea Island, Steveston and Lansdowne just to name a few, it occupies most of the southwest corridor of the Lower Mainland and it ranks as the 4^th largest populated city of all of British Columbia and 25^th largest in all of Canada, and was incorporated as a city on November 10^th, 1879 but reincorporated again in December, 111 years later. Its economic base includes fishing, agriculture, manufacturing and warehousing.

In 2009, Richmond became an important and viable transportation hub for residents who travel to Vancouver to work, when the new Canada Line Rapid Transit System was built, thus cutting down travel time from at least 1 hour on the bus or car to downtown Vancouver to an easy 25 minute commute during the times of the day when traffic in Vancouver is at a complete standstill.

Richmond’s population: 174,461 

LIKELY

LIKELY

Is a small community, 94 kilometers east of Williams Lake in the Central Cariboo region of British Columbia on a side and an unmarked road off Highway #97, just east of 150 Mile House. It is where the Quesnel River enters Quesnel Lake. Likely was once a prosperous gold mining camp and had very rich gold finds in the Cariboo district. Likely today still relies on mining exploration especially with a open-pit mine found nearby, but is mainly a tourism town especially fishing, hiking and the history of the area. One notable attraction nearby is the ghost town of Quesnel Forks (sometimes spelled as “Quesnelle Forks”) which is 8 kilometers, northeast of Likely was an important mining town in its own right, especially with Chinese miners. Likely is named after John Likely, known by his famous nickname “Pluto John”, a gold prospector.

LIKELY’S POPULATION: 375

MONTROSE

^{Montrose is a small village, located just 7 kilometers east of Trail along Highway #3B, on a hill that ascends towards a gorge known as Beaver Valley.}

^{Originally known as Wood’s Flats, its present name comes from a Scottish eastern coast resort town of where a former lawyer that lived at nearby Trail, came from. Its history goes back to the 1950s, when it became incorporated as a village and when it was constructed as a retirement community for Trail employees who worked in that town’s Smelter.}

^{Just a few short years after its incorporation, the community of Montrose became more accessible to commuters when construction of the Montrose Cutoff, an extension of Highway #3B from Trail to Fruitvale was built, this highway improvement project reduced and cut travel time to and from Trail down to 10 minutes from 45. Moreover, Montrose is an attractive place for residents who commute to either Fruitvale or Trail for work.}

^{With its beautiful location in the Western Kootenay region, Montrose is a hiker paradise, particularly with the Antenna Trail which provides a great view of Montrose as well as a great lookout and view of the Beaver and Columbia River Valleys.}

^{There are services for travelers available in Montrose including gas, post office, corner store, public works yard, and an auto repair facility.}

Montrose's population: 1,012  

LITTLE FORT

LITTLE FORT

Is a small hamlet, located at the junction of Highways #24 and the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #5) and along the North Thompson River.

It is known as the hub of the North Thompson Valley. Little Fort relies on traffic on the Yellowhead Highway, while relying on traditional industries like hay farming, and fishing resorts. The community is located approximately halfway between Clearwater and Barriere and is named after a Hudson’s Bay Company trading post fort that was an outpost of Fort Kamloops. Abandoned since 1952, the post was essentially a small cabin located on the eastern banks of the North Thompson River.

The settlement has a gas station, campground, restaurant, pub, café, supermarket, fly tackle shop, craft store, liquor store and other amenities as well as a aerial tramway that operates across the North Thompson River.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Little Fort’s population: 444 

LONE BUTTE

LONE BUTTE

Is a small community situated 20 kilometers southeast of 100 Mile House and located on Highway #24 in the Cariboo region of British Columbia.

Lone Butte was once a busy town for ranchers who settled in the area from the late-1800s, to the 1950s and used to be bigger than that of nearby Cariboo towns such as 100 Mile House, Clinton and 70 Mile House and even had sawmills, stockyards, hotel, small hospital, school and its own railway station for the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to carry passengers to and from the community. Today’s version of Lone Butte is quieter that it once was; it is an unincorporated community that features a café, pub, a few shops, a restaurant, gas station, general store, community hall and a small art gallery.

Named after a hardened plug of an ancient and extinct volcano that stands predominately 250 meters over the town towards the east and where hikers can climb it for an impressive view of the surround area, Lone Butte also attracts many fisherman to the area thanks to many lakes located close by including that of Irish, Deka, Sheridan, Bridge, Horse and Hathaway Lakes.

One other attraction in Lone Butte is the Pacific Great Eastern Railway’s (which merged to become the British Columbia Railway in 1972) last standing wooden water tower, where during the 1920s, the railway used it to top off its fleet of steam locomotives.

Lone Butte’s population: 317

BALFOUR

BALFOUR

Balfour’s population: 479

^{Balfour is a small community overlooking the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, 34 kilometers northeast of Nelson in the southeast corner of British Columbia.}

^{Balfour’s history dates back to 1889 when it was originally a site of a port for steamboats that ran across the lake. The Canadian Pacific Railway opened a 50-room resort hotel and during the First World War (WWI), the hotel was used temporarily as a hospital for veterans who fought in the war. The hotel closed in 1920. There are a couple of amenities that serve travelers and tourists alike, including a couple of pubs, a school, marina, several beds and breakfasts, and a golf course.}

^{There is even a car ferry terminal that is used for a ferry that operates on Kootenay Lake to the small settlement of Kootenay Bay. A 45-minute ferry ride, it known for being “North America’s longest free ferry ride”.}

^{Balfour is named after former United Kingdom Prime Minister James Arthur Balfour (1848-1930), and is sometimes referred to as Balfour Bay.}

^{The two vessels that operate at the ferry terminal are the 80-car and 250 passenger capacity MV Osprey 2000 (the largest of the two) and the 28 car and 150-passenger capacity MV Balfour (used only during the summer months for additional sailings).}

SICAMOUS

SICAMOUS

Sicamous’ population: 2,827

^{Sicamous is a small town nestled at the foot of the Eagle Valley, between the lakes of Shuswap and Mara, as well as the junction of Highways #1 (Trans-Canada) and Highway #97A.}

^{The first settlers in Sicamous were from Finland and during the 1800s; the Shuswap First Nations went through here to cross the Rockies in order to hunt buffalo in the plains. During the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885, Sicamous was laid out as a permanent townsite. Sicamous also began as the headquarters for the North Okanagan Farm Products and revolved around the 1892 construction of the Shuswap and Okanagan Railway.}

^{With its mild and moderate climate and the warm sandy beaches of Shuswap Lake, tourism has been a flourishing economy for Sicamous for the last decade and bills itself “the Houseboat Capital of Canada”, due to its massive and large fleet of Houseboat rentals in Canada. Other important economies in Sicamous include the forest industry with sawmills in Malakwa and Salmon Arm, and some degree of agriculture.}

Although Sicamous is located along Shuswap Lake it is however not located on the main lake itself as it is located along near the junction of the Anstey and Salmon Arms of the lake. Shuswap Lake consists of 4 arms, (Anstey, the main lake, Salmon and Seymour Arms).

Sicamous was incorporated officially as a district municipality in 1989, and the name comes from the Okanagan First Nations word, shick-a-mows meaning “in the middle” in reference to Sicamous Narrows, a small canal or creek-shaped body of water which separates or drains Shuswap Lake from Mara Lake. 

CRESTON

Is a town tucked in a wide, fertile valley of the Kootenay River, south of Kootenay Lake and just a few minutes from the Canada/United States border crossing.

Named after the town of the same name in Iowa, Creston was first settled by the Ktunaxa (Kootenai First Nations) people who lived here for over 11,000 years. Exploration of this area began in 1808 when David Thompson, passed through here from Creston on his way down the Columbia River. Afterward when gold was rumored to be found on Wild Horse Creek, near Fort Steele in the mid-1860s, Creston soon became home to many miners, homesteaders and settlers. The first settler arrived in the-1880s, and soon afterward 2 railways (Canadian Pacific Railway and the Great Northern Railway), were built. The railways were built to provide better access to several mines in the Kootenay region especially those of around the Nelson and Kaslo areas. At the beginning of the 20th century, Creston soon became an important distribution center for the surrounding valley and because mining wasn’t an important economic commodity here, the town relied heavily on agriculture and forestry in its early days. Beer brewing, food processing, and tourism are now important supporters for the economy for Creston. In addition, Creston is home to the largest and most important grain elevators, south of the Peace River. In order to avoid a longer route to Nelson, the Crowsnest Highway (Highway #3) known to most people here as the Salmo-Creston Highway or as the Kootenay Pass Skyway, was constructed in the 1960s, where Creston is the eastern terminus. As a result, Creston became a town in 1966 after being a village before that since 1924.

Creston is also known for having the most concentration of breeding ospreys in Canada and the significant colonies of terns and is home to a massive 17,000 acre wildlife area for several species of waterfowl, bird, reptile and fish as well as some types of plants.

The climate here is classified as continental, which is characterized by air masses which originate from the Pacific Ocean coast. Sometimes although very rare, temperatures in Creston can range around -20 to the -30 range and despite the fact that Creston does have cold winter days, an early spring (usually around late March to mid-April) is likely to occur. On summer days the thermometer may reach up to +30 degrees on some days and the first frost is usually not expected to happen until around the first days of fall.

Due to its location near the Canada/United States border, most of the businesses established in Creston accept American currency and in a similar contrast, Porthill an Idaho town just south of the border, accepts Canadian currency and items such as gasoline are sold by the litre. Unlike other communities in southeastern British Columbia that are in the Mountain Time Zone such as Cranbrook, Fernie, and Sparwood, and like Yahk 44 kilometers east of here, Creston does observe Daylight Savings Time which during the summer months, Creston possesses the same time as Vancouver and during the winter months, the same time as Calgary.

Creston’s population: 4,816

YALE

^YALE

Yale's population: 169

Yale is a tiny and historic village, located in the Fraser Canyon and Trans-Canada Highway (Highway #1), 24 kilometers north of Hope.

^{Long been inhabited by the Yale First Nation, Yale dates back to 1848 when the Hudson’s Bay Company operated a fort and became a mainland terminus for sternwheelers paddling up and down the Fraser River. During the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s, Yale almost immediately became a gold rush town with saloons, gambling houses, stores and bar rooms and a population of 20,000. This boom was a result of gold been found on a river sand bar 2 miles south of town.}

^{All of the hustle and bustle soon made Yale (at the time a population of 20,000 people), the largest town north of San Francisco and west of Chicago (this distinction, however was later shared by several towns in British Columbia including Barkerville, Lillooet, Quesnel Forks and Greenwood). Also during the Cariboo Gold Rush, Yale became the starting terminus and point for the Cariboo Wagon Road, all the way to Barkerville in the North Cariboo.}

^{Yale prospered for the next 20 years after the gold rush when the Canadian Pacific Railway was constructed during the 1880s.}

^{Unfortunately, as gold quickly ran out, so to did Yale’s glory and its population soon dwindled but its has since recovered today to be a tourism, forestry and service community for the Fraser Canyon. It has a gas station, motels, pioneer cemetery, museum, and the St. John the Devine Church, which is one of the province’s oldest churches still on its orginal foundation.}

^{Yale was named in 1847 after James Murray Yale (1796-1871), whom at the time, was a supervisor of the Fort Langley Hudson’s Bay Company.}

^{The Fraser River is named after Simon Fraser, one of British Columbia’s most well-known explorers whom in 1808, camped near here while on his famous trek along the Fraser River to the Pacific Ocean near Vancouver.}

^{One final interesting fact, Yale is one of 4 main communities that begin with “Y”. The others are Yahk, Youbou, and Ymir. All of them are unincorporated and have a population of less than 1,000 people.}