Fort Steele, British Columbia July 12, 2006

We loved Fort Steele! This was a town of about 80 buildings, 95% of which are historic, actual buildings from 1890. The town was originally Galbraith's Ferry, but they had Indian trouble and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were sent in, headed by Sam Steele. He negotiated a settlement, and the town so loved the man they renamed to town. The RCMP built barracks here and the town thrived from late 1880s, during the Canadian gold rush and on. The Canadian Pacific RR chose Cranbook instead of Ft. Steele and by 1915 there were 0nly 50 people living here. The town has been restored with street actors recreating events from the town newspaper. It is a combination Williamsburg and ghost town. Great fun. Check out the Canadian Rockies in the back, the school on the right and the privy dead center.