Carving the Western Path: Routes to Remember

The sparsely populated southern Interior of British Columbia was rich in resources and ripe for settlement in the late 1800s. The agricultural lands of the Okanagan and Nicola valleys, and the precious metals and coal of the Kootenays, lay largely unused or undiscovered: the challenge was getting to these places.

Transportation was the key that opened the way to these riches, providing hope for the future for stout-hearted settlers—people for whom hope was the greatest of treasures. In thi...