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Cranbrook's First Public School ca.1900 Collection No. 0049.0158 It's back to school, everyone, and the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History is sharpening its pencils over the next couple of weeks to celebrate the season. We will be honouring the arrival of the new school year with some throwbacks to a great tradition....

Mount Bill Nye - Photo courtesy of Kootenayskid In response to many queries, the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History (CBIRH) went on a quest to discover the naming of Mount Bill Nye. We contacted the Provincial Toponymist who searched the Geo Names Archives and Resources Library for the name origins of Mount Bill...

The Stolen Church

August 6th, 2021

The Stolen Church - located in Windermere B.C. - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History In 1885 the town of Donald B.C., known originally as 'First Crossing', was located where the C.P.R. first crossed the Columbia River, 28 Kilometres west of Golden. It was a rather lively canvas town in its heyday,...

Bear Story

July 16th, 2021

This story was taken from the Golden Era, July 19, 1901. A valid and fascinating account of life in the 1890s here in the East Kootenay: Collection No. 0070.0017 - Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History One bright July afternoon, in the summer of 1892, three prospectors might have been seen with ...

Collection No. 0040.0015: Bull River, B.C.The townsite of Bull River, featuring the Benedict general store. Image courtesy of the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History By Derryll White  You had to know Verdun Casselman to enjoy the full depth of this book, although any discerning reader will see large parts of...