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 Throughout
the later 1880s Colonel James Baker continued to build and develop
his land holdings, at the same time becoming government representative
for the Kootenays. The following quotation from the prospectus of
his Cranbrook and Fort Steele Estates and Townsite Company shows
clearly Colonel Baker's intent as early as 1889: "The Estate
is surrounded by about 150,000 acres of pasture lands, composed
of bunch grass, peavine, etc. The whole has the appearance of a
beautiful park, and it will undoubtedly become the show place on
the line of Railway." Cranbrook, even at that early date, was
being pushed by the Colonel as the clear choice for the railway's
divisional point.
The railway mentioned in the prospectus was the Crow's Nest and
Kootenay. It was founded in 1888 with Colonel Baker as one of the
principals, and was authorized to build a line from Lethbridge in
what is today Alberta through the Crow's Nest Pass to Kootenay Lake.
In 1891 the name was changed to the B.C. Southern Railway, and the
line was leased to the Canadian Pacific Railway.  Fort
Steele, meanwhile, had stagnated with the departure of the N.W.M.P.
Then in 1892 major silver-lead discoveries, coupled with a C.P.R.
announcement that the Crow's Nest Railway would be built, resulted
in a new boom. Fort Steele became the commercial, social and administrative
centre for the region and land values soared. Prospectors flooded
the valley once more and the hills were dotted with campfires each
evening.
Fort Steele quickly grew to approximately 2,000 people, with a
variety of businesses. Prime among them was a newspaper, The Prospector,
with editor-founder A.B. Grace campaigning for improved transportation
and communications and proclaiming the community "The Capital
of the Kootenays." Much of the history of Fort Steele is linked
with the development of the province's railway system. The promise
of a railway coming to the town in 1897 was perhaps the strongest
factor in nourishing the ensuing boom. Residents were convinced
that their town would be the railway divisional point. But their
hopes were shattered!
 As
Robert T. Richardson recorded: "...owing to some disagreement
between Galbraith, who owned the townsite, and the Canadian Pacific
Railway Co., over the sharing of townsite lots, the road went through
Cranbrook and left Fort Steele in the sticks. It has been said that
when Galbraith sold the townsite of Cranbrook to Col. Baker, the
mortgage he held could have been paid only if the railroad went
through Cranbrook."
Fort Steele's land values and population plummeted as Cranbrook
attracted the tradesmen, merchants and, finally, the government
offices. By 1910 Fort Steele was becoming a ghost town. "Now
the wooden sidewalks have decayed," reminisced Mr. Richardson,
"grass grows in the streets and any buildings that have not
been burned or removed, look like old ghosts on a beautiful townsite."
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| Interior view of Windsor Hotel Lobby, c1900 |
Carlin and Durick and the Windsor Hotel,
c1950 |
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History