Trout Lake, British Columbia
Trout Lake | |
---|---|
Central Kootenay | |
Area codes | 250, 778, 236, & 672 |
Highways | Hwy 31 |
Trout Lake is an unincorporated community in the
Early community
Named after the lake, the new townsite of Trout Lake City was marketed in 1893.[2] That year, a general store,[3] Trout Lake Hotel,[4] and Queen's Hotel, opened.[5]
In 1895, the completion of the wagon road initiated a stage service to Thomson's Landing (Beaton).[6] In 1897, the route extended to Ferguson.[7] That year, a sawmill was set up,[8] construction boomed, a constable took up residence,[9] and the weekly Trout Lake Topic was launched.[10] Also, the Lakeview Hotel[11] and Windsor Hotel opened.[12]
By 1898, complementing the hotels and sawmill were four general stores, a meat market, drugstore, assayer, printer, barber, blacksmith, three livery stables, schoolhouse, and government buildings.[13] Earlier that year, a telephone link was established via Comaplix.[14] In 1899, sidewalks were added to the main streets.[15]
During 1902, the Methodist Church and Odd Fellows hall (hall/commercial premises complex) were built.[16] The hospital, completed in 1903, opened in 1904.[17] Whereas the Ferguson Imperial Bank branch operated January 1902 [18] to April 1904,[19] the Trout Lake branch operated September 1903[20] to November 1906.[21]
In 1904, the Anglican Church was built,[22] the Park Hotel opened to the northwest,[23] Ferguson's Lardeau Eagle amalgamated with the Trout Lake Topic to create the Lardeau Mining Review,[24] and the town water supply system came on line.[25] Following rivalry and bitterness, once encouraged by the respective newspapers,[26] harmony developed between the two towns.[27] That year, a new larger sawmill opened,[28] went bankrupt, and closed.[29] The planing mill restarted a year later[30] and the sawmill the following month.[31] Closing three months later,[32] the machinery was relocated to Gerrard.[33]
In 1906, the Queen's Hotel burned to the ground.[34] By 1910, only the Lakeview and Windsor hotels provided accommodation.[35]
In 1909, a shingle mill opened,[36] which also supplied electricity to the community.[37] In summer 1916, new machinery doubled capacity,[38] but fire totally destroyed the complex within months.[36] The following summer, the rebuilt mill opened.[39]
The constable arriving in 1915,[40] but enlisting months later,[41] does not appear to have been replaced.
In 1922, Robert Madden's former Lakeview Hotel burned to the ground.[42] That year, fire destroyed the former Odd Fellows hall (a general store and hall below with the upstairs converted to a residence).[43]
The population was about 1,000 by 1900,[44] 80 by 1920,[45] 50 by 1939,[46] 28 by 1945,[47] and 7 by 1959.[44]
The post office operated 1895–1954. Soon after, the Ferguson post office relocated to Trout Lake, but closed in 1979.[2]
Mining and transportation
Silver discoveries in the area led to extensive prospecting from 1890 onward.[48] Prior to the 1902 opening of the railway to Gerrard and subsequent wintertime lake freezing, ore was temporarily stored awaiting conveyance by lake boat.[49] In 1954, the Trout Lake–Gerrard road was completed.[44]
Later community
The settlement contains about 40 permanent residents and many recreational properties for visitors attracted by the scenery and fishing.[50] The historic Windsor Hotel has survived. Outside the general store stands a functioning, hand-pumped, glass-enclosed, gravity-fed gasoline pump.[51] The store is the original Hladinec Esso garage. The No-Board Cafe, a coffee shop/cafe, opened in 2006.[52]
Footnotes
- ^ "Trout Lake (community)". BC Geographical Names.
- ^ a b "Castlegar News, 12 Oct 2017". www.castlegarnews.com.
- ^ "Kootenay Star, 8 Jul 1893". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
- ^ "Kootenay Star, 19 Aug 1893". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Star, 14 Oct 1893". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 10 Aug 1895". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 19 Jun 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 12 Jun 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 26 Jun 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
"Kootenay Mail, 21 Aug 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
"Kootenay Mail, 26 Jun 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1. - ^ "Kootenay Mail, 23 Oct 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 28 Aug 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Revelstoke Herald, 13 Oct 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 22 Oct 1898". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Revelstoke Herald, 29 Sep 1897". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
"Kootenay Mail, 23 Jul 1898". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3. - ^ "Kootenay Mail, 22 Jul 1899". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Lardeau Eagle, 8 May 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
"Revelstoke Herald, 2 Oct 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
"Lardeau Eagle, 3 Oct 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1. - ^ "Daily News, 17 Jun 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "Lardeau Eagle, 2 Jan 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News, 14 Apr 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
- ^ "Lardeau Eagle, 2 Oct 1903". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 29 Nov 1906". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Kootenay Mail, 11 Jun 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 5.
- ^ "Ledge, 4 Aug 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "Cranbrook Herald, 10 Nov 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 11 Nov 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
- ^ "Lardeau Eagle,8 May 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 13 Jan 1905". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "BC Lumberman, 30 Jul 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 21.
- ^ "BC Lumberman, 30 Nov 1904". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 4.
"Lardeau Mining Review, 16 Jun 1905". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1. - ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 18 Aug 1905". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 7 Sep 1905". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 23 Nov 1905". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "Daily News, 19 May 1906". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3.
- ^ "Lardeau Mining Review, 8 Feb 1906". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "1910 BC Directory". www.bccd.vpl.ca.
- ^ a b "Daily News, 20 Nov 1916". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 5.
- ^ "Mail Herald, 11 Oct 1911". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 2.
- ^ "Daily News, 18 Mar 1916". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 5.
- ^ "Ledge, 12 Jul 1917". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "District Ledger, 22 May 1915". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 1.
- ^ "Daily News, 19 Aug 1915". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 6.
- ^ "Daily News, 23 Feb 1922". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 5.
- ^ "Daily News, 29 Dec 1922". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 5.
- ^ a b c Fyles & Eastwood 1962, p. 11 (12).
- ^ "1920 BC Directory". www.bccd.vpl.ca.
- ^ "1939 BC Directory". www.bccd.vpl.ca.
- ^ "1945 BC Directory". www.bccd.vpl.ca.
- ^ Fyles & Eastwood 1962, p. 10 (11).
- ^ "Nelson Daily Miner, 14 Jan 1902". www.library.ubc.ca. p. 3.
- ^ "Trout Lake". www.troutlakebc.com.
- ^ "Trout Lake". www.ourbc.com.
- ISBN 0-9694236-3-2.
References
- Fyles, James T.; Eastwood, G.E.P. (1962). "Geology of the Ferguson Area" (PDF). www.nrs.gov.bc.ca. BC Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Resorces.