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South Country Web Exhibit

November 17th, 2021

The Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History is proud to present our latest installation, a web exhibit chronicling the Triangle Women's Institute from Grasmere B.C. and its origins in the South Country. This project was sponsored by the Columbia Basin Trust, Heritage BC, and the RDEK. Special thanks to creators Erin...

Establishing a town

October 18th, 2021

Cranbrook Postcard Album Collection No. 0019.0189 ca. 1910 - Kootenay River and the Rockies from Wardner, B.C - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History. In his memoirs, 'Jim Wardner, by himself 1900,' Jim writes of the experience of establishing Wardner B.C. "I met Capt. F.P. Armstrong on the Canadian...

Collection No. 0039.0195: Wardner B.C. and Kootenay River, ca. 1908 - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History The abundant minerals in the southern end of the East Kootenays and its proximity to Crowsnest, Elk Valley, and Flathead (over 500 million tonnes of coal have been produced since 1898) made...

Wardner - The Riverboat Era

September 20th, 2021

Kootenay River Bridge at Wardner Collection No. 2078.0020 - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History Steamboats like the Gwendoline, North Star, and Ruth were the only means of travel to move materials and passengers before the railroad's arrival. Steamboating was the way of life in the East Kootenays...

Kootenay River & Crow's Nest Pass Lumber Co. Collection No. 0017.0113 ca. 1909: Wardner B.C. - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History Join us in our multi-part series on Wardner B.C. for a glimpse of pioneers and adventurers in the late 1890s. Trials and tribulations were part of founding the...