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