The unofficial BC Travel & Tourism Guide
Wardner
Named after James A. Wardner, an American businessman and close associate of CPR’s vice president Thomas G. Shaughnessy, the town of Wardner was established in the late 1890s with great hopes on the mineral and lumber of the East Kootenays.
With promises of being at a railway and riverboat hub, real estate ventures were launched and a 50-room hotel was promoted. Two more hotels, a newspaper and telegraph service followed. But much was to rest on the railway, and reality sank in as decisions made by Canadian Pacific Rail clearly made Cranbrook the preeminent centre of the east Kootenay. With the closing of the mill, ore smelting established elsewhere, and the prospect of gold in the Klondike, the town soon emptied, and what had been a bustling town full of optimism in 1896, was virtually abandoned by 1899.
But fortune would turn: forest riches were tempting, and with the construction of a modern mill, which shipped lumber on the river, the town was bustling again by 1912. The town’s fortunes would rise and sink many more times, but today it is little more than a collection of determined residents who get most of their supplies from neighbouring towns.
Visitors looking for a change of scene can take a small diversion off Hwy 3 and view the historic town site set next to the beautiful Kootenay River. Check into a B&B and with a history book in-hand, imagine the colourful past of Wardner.
Wardner is located close to Cranbrook, the largest city of the B.C. Rocky Mountain region, offering shopping galore, boutiques and cafés, an arts centre, several heritage centres and an abundance of other attractions to entertain visitors. Wardner is located in the Columbia Valley, offering vistas of snowcapped mountain peaks, lush green valleys and crystal clear lakes. Many lakes are stocked with fish from the provincial hatchery near Wardner.
Named after James A. Wardner, an American businessman and close associate of CPR’s vice president Thomas G. Shaughnessy, the town of Wardner was established in the late 1890s with great hopes on the mineral and lumber of the East Kootenays.
With promises of being at a railway and riverboat hub, real estate ventures were launched and a 50-room hotel was promoted. Two more hotels, a newspaper and telegraph service followed. But much was to rest on the railway, and reality sank in as decisions made by Canadian Pacific Rail clearly made Cranbrook the preeminent centre of the east Kootenay. With the closing of the mill, ore smelting established elsewhere, and the prospect of gold in the Klondike, the town soon emptied, and what had been a bustling town full of optimism in 1896, was virtually abandoned by 1899.
But fortune would turn: forest riches were tempting, and with the construction of a modern mill, which shipped lumber on the river, the town was bustling again by 1912. The town’s fortunes would rise and sink many more times, but today it is little more than a collection of determined residents who get most of their supplies from neighbouring towns.
Visitors looking for a change of scene can take a small diversion off Hwy 3 and view the historic town site set next to the beautiful Kootenay River. Check into a B&B and with a history book in-hand, imagine the colourful past of Wardner.
Wardner is located close to Cranbrook, the largest city of the B.C. Rocky Mountain region, offering shopping galore, boutiques and cafés, an arts centre, several heritage centres and an abundance of other attractions to entertain visitors. Wardner is located in the Columbia Valley, offering vistas of snowcapped mountain peaks, lush green valleys and crystal clear lakes. Many lakes are stocked with fish from the provincial hatchery near Wardner.
Wardner Accommodations
Wardner Things to Do
British Columbia
