Today (Mar. 1) is Revelstoke’s 124th birthday.

It was 124 years ago today, in 1899, that Revelstoke was incorporated as a city. The Revelstoke Museum and Archives (RMA) said in their “History of Revelstoke” page that the townsite was founded before 1899 when the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) was being built. Before the CPR was constructed, a surveyor named A.S. Farwell named the townsite ‘Farwell’ after himself.

The RMA said that Farwell’s town was like the wild west, “complete with general stores, hotels, brothels and saloons.” At one point in 1885, a fire ripped through Farwell and burned several buildings on Front St. to the ground. The RMA said that within two-weeks, many buildings that had burned were already rebuilt.

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Eventually, CPR petitioned the federal post office – now the location of the Revelstoke Museum and Archives – to change the name of the settlement to Revelstoke. CPR wanted to honour ‘Lord Revelstoke’, whose banking firm was integral in financing the completion of the railway.

Revelstoke has had a storied history in its more than a century lifetime. From the highest economic highs, including a goldrush, to the lows—Revelstoke has always been a pillar of interior British Columbia. To read more about Revelstoke’s storied history, The Revelstoke Museum and Archives is a beacon of knowledge. Their website contains some quick history, but for more information, the museum itself and the brilliant employees provide a wealth of information about the city.

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