Elko, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Elko is located at the junction Highway 93 and Crowsnest Highway 3, to the north of the Roosville
Canadian-USA border crossing. Elko is situated in a narrow valley in the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains, in the heart of southeast British Columbia
.
Elko is a small sawmill town situated on the Elk River
, offering limited services.
and approximately 23 miles (37 km) north of the Canadian-USA border crossing at Roosville.
Angling is available on the Kootenay River
and the nearby Bull River.
Population: 163.
in the neighbourhood, there was nothing at Elko but a few survey stakes and a crude tote road before the Foley Brothers’ grading crews worked through here towards the end of May, 1898, building the roadbed of the B.C. Southern. When the railroad went through in July, the CPR erected what it called a “Crowsnest Pass Branch Standard Second Class Station” and Elko began to grow as Charles E. Eyre’s North Star Lumber Company commenced operations in the woods. North Star soon built a 100,000 board foot-per-day planer mill on the BC Southern near the Elko station to finish the rough lumber coming out of their mill near Jaffray
, while nearby the Leask and Johnson saw mill screamed out 60,000 per day. Eventually at least nine timbering outfits were at work along the Railway, on the delta of the Elk and the shores of the Kootenay River.
As the last of the easy timber was cut or burned away in the several fires which ravaged the area between 1904 and 1910, the smaller lumber companies began to shut down. Though ranching and orchard industries sprung up on the deforested acres, they did not employ nearly the numbers that logging had and the pace of commerce in Elko slowed. The recession following the Great War diminished coal exports from the mines farther up the Elk and the railroads scaled back their operations.
Roosville, British Columbia
Roosville, British Columbia, Canada is a tiny farming community bordering the U.S. state of Montana near Lake Koocanusa, at the southeast corner of Tobacco Plains Indian Reserve No. 2. The Roosville border crossing is a primary entry into Southeast British Columbia from Northwest Montana. The name...
Canadian-USA border crossing. Elko is situated in a narrow valley in the rugged Canadian Rocky Mountains, in the heart of southeast British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Elko is a small sawmill town situated on the Elk River
Elk River (British Columbia)
The Elk River is a long river, in the southeastern Kootenay district of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in area. Its mean discharge is approximately 60 m³/s, with a maximum recorded discharge of 818 m³/s.-Course:...
, offering limited services.
Location
Elko is located in the extreme southeastern corner of British Columbia, in the Regional District of East Kootenay, at the junction of Highway 93 and Highway 3, 20 miles (32 km) south of FernieFernie, British Columbia
Fernie is a city in the Elk Valley area of the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia, Canada, located on BC Highway 3 on the eastern approaches to the Crowsnest Pass through the Rocky Mountains...
and approximately 23 miles (37 km) north of the Canadian-USA border crossing at Roosville.
Angling is available on the Kootenay River
Kootenay River
The Kootenay is a major river in southeastern British Columbia, Canada and the northern part of the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho. It is one of the uppermost major tributaries of the Columbia River, which is the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and the nearby Bull River.
Population: 163.
History
The Ktunaxa had for generations mined argilliteArgillite
An argillite is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. The argillites grade into shale when the fissile layering typical of shale is...
in the neighbourhood, there was nothing at Elko but a few survey stakes and a crude tote road before the Foley Brothers’ grading crews worked through here towards the end of May, 1898, building the roadbed of the B.C. Southern. When the railroad went through in July, the CPR erected what it called a “Crowsnest Pass Branch Standard Second Class Station” and Elko began to grow as Charles E. Eyre’s North Star Lumber Company commenced operations in the woods. North Star soon built a 100,000 board foot-per-day planer mill on the BC Southern near the Elko station to finish the rough lumber coming out of their mill near Jaffray
Jaffray, British Columbia
Jaffray, British Columbia is an unincorporated village in southeast British Columbia. As of the RDEK 2010 census, the population was 810 , spread over a rural area of roughly 44 square kilometres.-History:...
, while nearby the Leask and Johnson saw mill screamed out 60,000 per day. Eventually at least nine timbering outfits were at work along the Railway, on the delta of the Elk and the shores of the Kootenay River.
As the last of the easy timber was cut or burned away in the several fires which ravaged the area between 1904 and 1910, the smaller lumber companies began to shut down. Though ranching and orchard industries sprung up on the deforested acres, they did not employ nearly the numbers that logging had and the pace of commerce in Elko slowed. The recession following the Great War diminished coal exports from the mines farther up the Elk and the railroads scaled back their operations.
Fires
As it was in so many pioneer settlements built mostly from wood, fire was Elko’s nemesis. A blaze in 1914 gave a foretaste of the conflagration of Monday the 8th of September, 1919, which consumed the old Melbourne House, Fred Roo’s general store and post office, the telephone exchange, and the pool hall. In 1924 a “hurricane” ripped through the valley damaging the town, and a fire in early December of 1925 wiped out more of the central business district. It was nothing, however, compared to the inferno that blew into the community from the delta on Tuesday, August 18th, 1931.Wildlife
The most common wildlife in the Elko area is mainly Elk, Whitetail deer, Mule deer, Big Horn Sheep, Turkey, Grouse, and Black bear. Which can be commonly and often seen throughout the area. Uncommon animals that are located in the area but are more illusive includes Wolves, Cougars, Grizzly bears, Moose, and a large assortment of birds and rodents.Radio stations
- 102.9 FM - CHDR, Rock, -from Cranbrook
- 104.7 FM - CHBZ, Country, -from Cranbrook
- 101.3 FM - CBC Radio One, -from Kelowna
Cable Television Stations
- Channel 5: CFCNCFCN-TVCFCN-DT is a Canadian television station, broadcasting in Calgary, Alberta. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it is a part of the CTV Television Network. The station also operates a semi-satellite in Lethbridge....
, CTVCTV television networkCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival... - Channel 13: CBUT, CBCCBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
See also
- Fernie GhostridersFernie GhostridersThe Fernie Ghostriders are a Junior B Ice Hockey team based in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Eddie Mountain Division of the Kootenay Conference of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League . They play their home games at Fernie Memorial Arena...
- Elk RiverElk River (British Columbia)The Elk River is a long river, in the southeastern Kootenay district of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Its drainage basin is in area. Its mean discharge is approximately 60 m³/s, with a maximum recorded discharge of 818 m³/s.-Course:...
- Elk Valley
- Kootenay IceKootenay IceThe Kootenay Ice are a major junior ice hockey team based in Cranbrook, British Columbia and competing in the Western Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the Cranbrook Recreational Complex, also nicknamed the RecPlex.-History:...