FRUITVALE

FRUITVALE

Is a small residential community, 14 kilometers west of Trail, in the west Kootenay Region of British Columbia along Highway #3B.

Fruitvale began as a stop on the Great Northern Railway, and the first settlers that arrived in the area, called the community Beaver Siding, due to its location in the Beaver Valley and the fact that large amounts of beavers that live in the surrounding area and valley. The earliest residents recall seeing beavers building productive dams so much so, the damage they did building their dams was so severe, they caused Beaver Creek to overlow its banks and flood the road. Renamed in 1906 after a land agreement with a company by the name of Fruitvale Limited, renamed the town Fruitvale as somewhat of a advertising scheme of the company to market the town as the best fruit-growing area in the Kootenays.

Incorporated as a village in 1952, it is one of only a handful of British Columbia communities that is actually classified as a village even though it has a population of more than 2,000 people and is also home to the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s (KIJHL) Beaver Valley Nitehawks.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Fruitvale’s population: 2,117

Fruitvale's welcome sign