History of Castlegar: 1873 to 1967

Waterloo, across from the present South Castlegar, owed its birth to the Rossland mining camp, and especially to smelting operations at Trail, begun in 1889. Timber for fuel and construction of the smelter derived from alanding, called "Waterloo", on the eastern bank of the Columbia River, 32
kilometers upstream from Trail. One of the early loggers was Hiram Landis, who arrived from the United States in August 1895. Traces of iron were found while logging, and claims were staked in nearby hills. The following spring, prospectors found iron on Ironclad Mountain and on the north fork of Champion Creek. An English company, Lilloeet, Fraser and Co., took control of the properties and a mill was erected. The town site, originally named Monte Carlo, was later renamed Waterloo.

Another town site, a half mile up river, was surveyed and named Montgomery. By 1898, the English relinquished its bond and the post office was closed. Hiram Landis purchased 324 hectares of land from the CPR (later increased to 561 hectares ) on which he operated a ranch until it was sold to the Doukhobors in 1908

Robson's founding was linked to the completion of the CPR in 1885, and to the discovery of galena on Toad Mountain in 1886. The first town site in the Castlegar/Robson area, also tied to transportation developments, was Sproat's Landing, located, on 18 May 1888, between the junction of the Kootenay with the Columbia and the mouth of Pass Creek. Fred Hume and Robert E. Lemon, set up a warehouse and store in 1888, to serve the transport of goods from the CPR at Revelstoke to the mines on Toad Mountain and the new town site of Nelson. Sproat's Landing also be the headquarters for the Gold Commissioner, Sam Green, probably buying out R.E. Lemon. In1890, the CPR began construction of a rail link, the first in the Kootenays, to Nelson to replace the trail built by L. Macquarrie in 1888. They decided to relocate their transfer point away from the marsh land at the mouth of Pass Creek. Viewed in another light, an anonymous source states they did so because of " exorbitant land grabbing by the occupants of the Sproat site". East Robson became the terminus, located one mile north on a well-drained terrace. After completion of the Columbia and Kootenay rail link in August 1891, a hotel was built West Robson was established across the river to serve the Columbia and Western Railway, built by August Heinze to link with his smelter being built on Trail Creek. In 1902, the Yale Columbia sawmill was built at Wesley, near this transfer point. In 1898, the Columbia and Western Railway was extended from the west of this slip to Grand Forks and Midway.

A major development affecting the fortunes of East and West Robson, and beginning the history of Castlegar, was the decision to build a rail bridge across the Columbia linking the rails of the Columbia and Kootenay, the Columbia and Western railway lines. Completion of the rail bridge in 1902 led to relocation of the terminal from East Robson to Castlegar, where a rail station was built

By 1910, Castlegar consisted of the railway station, a hotel, a store/post office/community hall, one frame house and a school. In 1913, there were 15 students at the school, only three of whose fathers did not work for the CPR.

The Doukhobor settlement lasted from 1908 until 1913, by which time about 5,000 Doukhobors had migrated to the Kootenays. The Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood flourished until 1938 when the banks seized the entire properties of over 70,000 acres. At that time it was the largest communal organization in North America. The settlement had a work force of 10,000 and operated a variety of industries such as: jam factories, lumber mills, brick yards, orchards, irrigation systems, their own telephone lines

After the Yale Columbia mill burned in 1908, the Edgewood Mill, employing up to 75, relocated across the CPR bridge, although few workers commuted. By 1919, with the installation of the Robson Ferry, Castlegar had the potential to become a bedroom community for the mill. By the 1920's, logging operations and a new brickyard saw the population reach about 300. In 1921, the completion of the road to Trail further opened the way for Castlegar's growth as a bedroom community. By the late 1930's, the road to Trail was improved and, in 1937, the Co-op Transportation Society was formed. Castlegar experienced a surge that saw the population double in 30 families in 1937, marking the end of the Great Depression.

Castlegar became a village in 1946. Growth accelerate with the construction of the regional airport at Castlegar in 1950. Two elementary schools were begun, Stanley Humphries High School was built, a new public library opened and building permits totaled $176,000. I was announced that the Kinnaird Bridge would be built over the Columbia River and that a $65M pulp mill would be built in the community. It was seven years before the new pulp mill was completed but the construction period was a boom time for the village. By 1965, the Columbia River Treaty dams, "The High Arrow", or "The Hugh Keenleyside" were underway, as was the new community "Selkirk College". Castlegar became a town January 1, 1966. The pulp company gifted the town with a new well and began plans to build a new sawmill adjoining the pulp mill, spelling the end of Waldie's mill downstream. In 1967, CP Airlines began jet service to Castlegar Airport. A sizable Portuguese community grew as workers moved in to take up employment in the area.