BUY BC BUSINESSES Business Buyer's Guide Kootenay Boundary Regions Fall 2015 | Page 17

Golden, BC

David Thompson explored the section of the Columbia River that passes through the
present town site of Golden in 1807. However, significant interest in the area did not
come about until the search for a pass through the Rocky Mountains to enable
construction of the CP Rail line from coast to coast in the 1850s brought the Palliser
expedition to the area. Sir James Hector, a geologist who was part of the expedition,
was kicked by a horse on his travels and narrowly escaped death. He named the pass
through the mountains and the river that flows through Golden Kicking Horse Pass and
Kicking Horse River respectively.
In the 1880's a way through the Selkirk Mountains was discovered by Major A.B. Rogers.
The pass that bears his name allowed construction of the final parts of the railway
linking east to west to proceed.
The first settlement in Golden, associated with Major Roger's survey party, happened in
1882.
Integral to the history of Golden was the role that the Swiss mountain guides played.
Canadian Pacific Railway employed mountaineering guides from Switzerland, starting in
1899, to guide passengers on mountain climbing expeditions. Homes constructed in the
early part of the 20th century for the guides remain a testament to this part of the
area's heritage.
A similar sense of adventure is now
attracting newcomers from Canada and
abroad, these innovative residents are
seeking to live an authentic mountain
lifestyle just as the early settlers did back at
the turn of the 20th century. The Town of
Golden is committed to balanced growth;
economic sustainability and living the
Authentic, Community, Adventure!