The History of Castlegar

Eleven chapters in the story.

Told chronologically, from deep time to the present day.

1. Time immemorial

   Sinixt homeland

   The confluence of the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers has been home to the Sinixt (Lakes) People since time immemorial. Pit-house archaeological sites at Zuckerberg Island predate European contact by millennia. Castlegar sits on the unceded traditional territory of the Sinixt, whose connection to this valley continues today.

2. 1890s

   Railway, riverboats, and a name

   The CPR's Columbia and Kootenay Railway reached the area in 1891, linking the interior mining camps to the Columbia River system. A steamboat landing grew at the confluence, servicing riverboats that connected Revelstoke to the US border. The name "Castlegar" is often attributed to a resemblance between local rock formations and Castlegar, Ireland.

3. 1908

   The Doukhobors arrive

   Led by Peter "the Lordly" Verigin, thousands of Doukhobor settlers arrived from Saskatchewan seeking land for their communal way of life. They purchased vast tracts in the Kootenays, including land at Brilliant and Ootischenia across the river. Their jam factory, sawmills, orchards, and communal villages reshaped the region's economy and culture. The influence of Doukhobor bread, borscht, architecture, and song is still felt today.

   The Doukhobor Discovery Centre at 112 Heritage Way tells this chapter in depth.

4. 1913

   The Brilliant Suspension Bridge

   Doukhobor engineers completed the Brilliant Suspension Bridge across the Kootenay River, a remarkable feat of community engineering with no government help. The bridge carried wagons, people, and produce between Brilliant and Castlegar. Designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995 and restored in the 1990s, it still stands as one of the few early-twentieth-century cable suspension bridges of its kind surviving in western Canada.

   Walk the Brilliant Suspension Bridge across the Kootenay River. It still carries pedestrians and cyclists.

5. 1924

   Tragedy at Farron

   Peter "the Lordly" Verigin was killed in an explosion aboard a CPR train near Farron, east of Castlegar. Investigators were never able to determine a definitive cause. His death marked a turning point for the Doukhobor community, which subsequently fractured into different groupings that continued to shape the Kootenays.

6. 1940s–1950s

   Wartime growth and post-war industry

   During and after the Second World War, Castlegar grew as a service centre for forestry, mining, and hydroelectric development. The CPR remained a major employer. The Celgar pulp mill, which opened nearby in 1961, would become one of the region's anchor employers for decades.

7. 1966

   Incorporation

   After years as a growing unincorporated community, Castlegar was officially incorporated as a town on January 1, 1966. Kinnaird, the neighbouring community to the south, was incorporated separately, a distinction still echoed in street names and neighbourhood identity today. The two communities amalgamated in 1974 to form the Castlegar we know.

8. 1974

   Amalgamation with Kinnaird

   Castlegar and Kinnaird formally amalgamated to create a single city. Selkirk College had opened in 1966 (Canada's first community college), bringing students and educators to the valley. The airport, originally a wartime airstrip, was expanded to serve regional air traffic.

9. 1980s–1990s

   Sculpture, salmon, and a civic identity

   The Castlegar & District Public Library opened in 1990. The Station Museum preserved the old CPR station at Zuckerberg Island. The Brilliant Suspension Bridge was restored in the 1990s, reopened as a National Historic Site. The City began building a civic identity rooted in confluence: rivers, cultures, and histories meeting at one point.

10. 2011

    Sculpturewalk opens

    Castlegar Sculpturewalk installed its first exhibition of outdoor sculptures across downtown, creating an annual rotating open-air gallery. The People's Choice winner is purchased by the City and added to the permanent civic collection. Twenty years on, Sculpturewalk has grown into one of the largest public-art programs of its kind in western Canada.

11. 2020s

    A modern Kootenay city

    Castlegar approaches a population of 10,000 with a growing economy anchored by Selkirk College, the West Kootenay Regional Airport, regional health services, forestry, tourism, and small business. The 2024 opening of Canada's tallest play structure at Millennium Park made national news. The Housing Strategy and a modernized Zoning Bylaw (Bylaw 1428) are reshaping the city for the next chapter.