An Area Rich in History

Between the Gold Rush and the different mining eras, the Japanese internment, the Railway constructions and the boom of logging industry, Greenwood has been the decor for so much history; a major piece of Canadian Heritage.

It all started back in 1895 when a merchant named Robert Wood erected a log store and named the region Greenwood. By 1896 there were three hotels, general store, livery stable, two assay offices, mining broker, opera house, and dozens of other establishments.

Greenwood became an incorporated city in 1897. The population climbed to 3,000 by 1899 and a railway called the Columbia and Western Railway reached Greenwood from the east. In 1899 a fire struck Greenwood which gutted several businesses. By 1901 the BC Copper Company built a smelter to treat the ore from the Mother Lode Mine. Greenwood was the supply centre for surrounding camps such as the Providence, Copper, Deadwood, Wellington, Central, Skylark and others. The city became the seat of government for the Boundary with one hundred firms in the business district.

Greenwood newspapers included The Boundary Creek Times (1896-1911), Greenwood Miner (1899-1901) and by 1906 another paper called the “Greenwood Ledge” emerged. By 1910 the boom had passed and Greenwood’s population was 1,500. After WWI copper prices dropped and the smelter lay idle. In 1919 it closed. The collapse of the smelters led to close of mines around the vicinity of Greenwood.

Find more here:

• Japanese History

• Mining History

• Forestry History