Valemount Community Album

Valemount Is a mountain community laying in the shadow of three major ranges – the Monashees to the south, the Cariboos to the west and the magnificent Rockies laying to the north and east. Mount Robson figures prominently in the photo collection of the Valemount Museum. It is also the northernmost community in the Columbia Basin and therefore of significance to the Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History. Some of the earliest settlers traveled up the Columbia River from Golden, then up the Canoe River to the Valemount area.

Valemount is and always has been an active railroad community. Lumbering, trapping and guiding/tourism have always been prominent, but even today the railway provides access to markets, jobs and a connectivity with the rest of Canada. This fact is manifest in the Valemount Museum and Archives building, a restoration of the 1914 Valemount station. Then, following the railway came the Yellowhead Highway connecting through from Edmonton to Prince George and south to Kamloops and the Coast.

What the viewer sees in the Valemount Album is a changing group of people working very hard to create a community out of the wilderness. Always, there is a connection to the environment and to the beautiful scenery of the Valemount area. Starting as Swift Creek, then changing to Valemount, the village incorporated in December 1962. It is a story of hard work, community building and success.

The Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History is very pleased to partner with the Valemount Museum and Archives to present the photographs and history of the Valemount region. Please use this Album to introduce yourself to the Columbia Basin Image Bank, and to explore even further into the rich history of the northernmost community in the Columbia Basin.