Fort Steele

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The Fort Steele was a goldmining village established in 1864 by John Galbraith. Initially the name of the village was "Galbraith's Ferry", the name of the boat the city founders built across the Kootenay River. In 1888, the name of the village was changed to Fort Steele after the mythical North-West Mounted Police Superintendent Sam Steele of Canada resolved a conflict between a colonist who had wrongly charged one of the First Nations' men with homicide.

The quarrel had led to great tensions between the city and the locals. She was indicted by Sam Steele, who found no true proof against the defendants. The city and the First Nations were so thankful that they re-named the city Fort Steele.

To Steele's consternation, the "fort" part of the name comes from the NWMP, which set up a stop in the city, while the city itself was never a fortress. Fort Steele grew quickly in the later 1890s and became the core of the East Kootenays. There was an interest from the Pacific Railways in Fort Steele.

However, when the paper that the railroad was to pass through Fort Steele was on its way to approval, a gentlemen called Colonel James Baker had other notions. Baker, a member of the British Columbia Legislative, had a small lumberjack' lumberyard called Joseph's Prairie. and persuaded them to avoid Fort Steele and take the railroad through Joseph's prairie.

That was definitive after the paper that the railroad would pass through Fort Steele was "lost" in the post office. When the railroad was finished, Baker changed the name of the city to Cranbrook. Later, he was selling the Fort Steele Landkerchief. Forte Steele's populace declined rapidly as the populace relocated to the more attractive Cranbrook.

When Fort Steele was left, the site began to deteriorate in time. Fort Steele was declared a historical site in 1967 and restorations began. Fort Steele was opened in 1969 as Fort Steele Heritage Town. In the last 45 years, it has been frequented by billions of tourists, and Fort Steele has become one of the most important tourism destinations in British Columbia.

There are many sightseeing opportunities at Fort Steele, many of them under the patronage of Fort Steele's non-profit friends. There are also several old houses on the site. Built in 1972, it has presented a number of performances, especially the Fort Steele Follies - a historical show with professionals.

Forte Steele provides year-round rail services behind one of three surviving steams, two of which are in service. Trains run from June to September, from Father's Day to Labour Day. 5 miles (4 km) stern bend gives the passenger an impression of a steamer in use.

This is a Pacific coast shark engine ("115") for felling on Vancouver Island. 115 is currently the biggest shark classic engine in Canada. 2-6-2 Plains Engine ("1077") from 1923 for woodcutting work on Vancouver Island. 1077 is the castle's principal engine. In 1989 the 1077 was relocated to Fort Steele to substitute the 115 May.

Further vehicles are three level wagons (two of which have been adapted for use as open-air carriages ), a UK coaches, a small saloon wagon which was taken out of service for the Dunrobin (originally used as the principal vehicle but due to internal damage), a Morrissy, Fernie and Michel luggage wagon, a Canadian Pacific railroad line convertible, Morrissy, Fernie and Michel ploughs and two tankers which are used for storing gas.

Barkerville, British Columbia, another haunted city confiscated and run as a cultural inheritance by British Columbia. This is Snow Queen, a fantastic movie made at Fort Steele.