Ferguson, British Columbia

Ferguson is a ghost town located in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia. It is located west of the junction of Ferguson and Lardeau Creeks.[1] It came into being with the discovery of gold in the region. In 1897, the Lardeau Hotel opened. By 1899, Ferguson had a main street with hotels, shops and saloons, and a population of 800. It had a newspaper called The Ferguson Eagle. It eventually went into decline and by 1920 was almost deserted. The Lardeau Hotel stood into the 1970s.[2]

Ferguson
Ferguson
Location of Ferguson in British Columbia
Coordinates: 50°41′00″N 117°29′00″W
Country Canada
Province British Columbia

The main street is said to have come back to life in the 2000s, when many lots were sold to cabin builders.[3]

Though mines in the surrounding mountains which had been supplied through Ferguson [4] (Broadview, True Fissure, Nettie L., Silver Cup) had generally fallen into disuse by the 1970s, substantial mineral resources remain in the area. In 2006 5 mines to the west of Ferguson were consolidated into the Thor deposit, which began gold production again in 2017.[5]

Ferguson was founded and named for Dave Ferguson, who came from Grand Bend, Ontario in 1891, and vanished in Saanich in December 1903. His body was found in a bush the next March, a coroner's jury finding he died of "suicide in a fit of despondency".[3]

References
  1. "Ferguson". BCGNIS. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  2. N.L. Barlee (1973), Gold Creeks and Ghost Towns. Canada West Publications.
  3. "Ferguson founder named town for himself", by Greg Nesteroff, Nelson Star
  4. Parent, Milton (2001). Circle of Silver Volume 4. Nakusp, British Columbia: Arrow Lakes Historical Society. pp. 58, 92, 93, 94. ISBN 0-9694236-3-2.
  5. "Taranis Resources Samples 3.72 Metres of 28.79 g/t Gold at Thor Project". Junior Mining Network. September 25, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
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