MIDWAY

^{Midway Is a small village, situated on the Kettle River, just 13 kilometers west of Greenwood in the West Kootenay Region of British Columbia.}

^{Midway was settled in 1889 by Louis Eholt, a rancher from Luxembourg, whom built a ranch in where Midway is located today. Prior to 1889, Eholt's ranch was used for prospectors who were using the property as a stopping and travelling point along the Dewdney Trail, to transport gold when it was discovered in Rock Creek in the late 1850s. In 1892, Eholt sold his ranch to a company from Montreal, Quebec in the hopes of building a smelter here.}

^{Originally known as Boundary City, for its location near the Canada/United States border (about a 3 minute drive), Midway was finally laid out in 1893 and during the 1890s mining boom, its population had grown to almost 6,000 people. Midway then became the western terminus of the Columbia and Western Railway when it was pushed through here in 1898 to Castlegar, thus making it a small shipping point for the distribution of ore deposits of iron.}

^{The town's name was changed from Boundary City to Midway in 1894 to avoid confusion with Boundary Falls, a town located about 5 kilometers east of here.}

^{Depending on who you talk to, there are several theories and stories on how Midway got its name. 1) Midway is named for its halfway location from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, fitting, since its motto is “Between the Mountains and the Sea”, this one appears to be the most popular one. 2) Midway also lies halfway between Hope and Wild Horse Creek, near present-day Fort Steele on the old Dewdney Trail. 3) Halfway point for frieght wagons travelling between Fairview, near Oliver and Marcus, Washington and where Eholt's Ranch was used to change horses.}

^{Midway is well known for being “Mile 0” of the Kettle Valley Railway, a popular railway that ran passenger train service via stream locomotive, from here to Hope from 1915 to 1964. However, due to financial issues, passenger train service on the Kettle Valley Railway ended in January of 1964 thus converting the former station, located on the western outskirts of town into a museum. The railway was then converted into a multi-use recreational rail trail, for hikers and cyclists, as part of the Trans-Canada Trail.}

^{Midway does not really have much of a “downtown core”. It is centralized around several streets including Palmerston, Dominion, Fifth and Hartland Avenues as well as Florence Street, where the 1905-built Kettle River Inn is located on.}

^{You will also find a hardware store, grocery store, gas station, motel, and a campground among other amentites.}

^{Midway's main industries are forestry, agriculture and tourism. Forestry has had a major financial impact on the economy of Midway. The town's main sawmill was forced to shut down operations in 2007 when the company that owned it, went bankrupt. Fortunately it was revived back to life in 2011 when it was bought by a local ownership group.}

^{Midway's population: 678}