Trout Lake, British Columbia

Named after the lake, the new townsite of Trout Lake City was marketed in 1893.[2] That year, a general store,[3] Trout Lake Hotel,[4] and Queen's Hotel, opened.[5]

In 1895, the completion of the wagon road initiated a stage service to Thomson's Landing (Beaton).[6] In 1897, the route extended to Ferguson.[7] That year, a sawmill was set up,[8] construction boomed, a constable took up residence,[9] and the weekly Trout Lake Topic was launched.[10] Also, the Lakeview Hotel[11] and Windsor Hotel opened.[12]

The Windsor Hotel in Trout Lake, B.C., in 2008, one of the oldest hotels in the province, although it is no longer operating as a hotel.

By 1898, complementing the hotels and sawmill were four general stores, a meat market, drugstore, assayer, printer, barber, blacksmith, three livery stables, schoolhouse, and government buildings.[13] Earlier that year, a telephone link was established via Comaplix.[14] In 1899, sidewalks were added to the main streets.[15]

During 1902, the Methodist Church and Odd Fellows hall (hall/commercial premises complex) were built.[16] The hospital, completed in 1903, opened in 1904.[17] Whereas the Ferguson Imperial Bank branch operated January 1902 [18] to April 1904,[19] the Trout Lake branch operated September 1903[20] to November 1906.[21]

In 1904, the Anglican Church was built,[22] the Park Hotel opened to the northwest,[23] Ferguson's Lardeau Eagle amalgamated with the Trout Lake Topic to create the Lardeau Mining Review,[24] and the town water supply system came on line.[25] Following rivalry and bitterness, once encouraged by the respective newspapers,[26] harmony developed between the two towns.[27] That year, a new larger sawmill opened,[28] went bankrupt, and closed.[29] The planing mill restarted a year later[30] and the sawmill the following month.[31] Closing three months later,[32] the machinery was relocated to Gerrard.[33]

In 1906, the Queen's Hotel burned to the ground.[34] By 1910, only the Lakeview and Windsor hotels provided accommodation.[35]

In 1909, a shingle mill opened,[36] which also supplied electricity to the community.[37] In summer 1916, new machinery doubled capacity,[38] but fire totally destroyed the complex within months.[36] The following summer, the rebuilt mill opened.[39]

The constable arriving in 1915,[40] but enlisting months later,[41] does not appear to have been replaced.

In 1922, Robert Madden's former Lakeview Hotel burned to the ground.[42] That year, fire destroyed the former Odd Fellows hall (a general store and hall below with the upstairs converted to a residence).[43]

The population was about 1,000 by 1900,[44] 80 by 1920,[45] 50 by 1939,[46] 28 by 1945,[47] and 7 by 1959.[44]

The post office operated 1895–1954. Soon after, the Ferguson post office relocated to Trout Lake, but closed in 1979.[2]

Silver discoveries in the area led to extensive prospecting from 1890 onward.[48] Prior to the 1902 opening of the railway to Gerrard and subsequent wintertime lake freezing, ore was temporarily stored awaiting conveyance by lake boat.[49] In 1954, the Trout Lake–Gerrard road was completed.[44]

The settlement contains about 40 permanent residents and many recreational properties for visitors attracted by the scenery and fishing.[50] The historic Windsor Hotel has survived. Outside the general store stands a functioning, hand-pumped, glass-enclosed, gravity-fed gasoline pump.[51] The store is the original Hladinec Esso garage. The No-Board Cafe, a coffee shop/cafe, opened in 2006.[52]

• Fyles, James T.; Eastwood, G.E.P. (1962). "Geology of the Ferguson Area" (PDF). www.nrs.gov.bc.ca. BC Ministry of Mines and Petroleum Resorces.