Canada's First World War Internment Operations

Fernie

Heart of the Elk Valley

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Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00514-07

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Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00369

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Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00785

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The Elk Valley has been inhabited for over 10,000 years by the people of the Ktunaxa Nation. Their traditional territory stretches over 70,000 square kilometres including most of southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta, and extends down into the modern United States, including chunks of Idaho, Washington and Montana. As European traders, missionaries, ranchers, and miners poured into the region over the course of the 19th Century, the Ktunaxa were largely dispossessed of their land. The discovery of coal in the region led several entrepreneurs, including William Fernie, to successfully advocate for the construction of a railway into the Elk Valley. After the railway was completed in 1897, the town of Fernie became the hub for mining operations in the valley, and it grew rapidly until the outbreak of the First World War. In the summer of 1915 the growing public pressure led the government to arrest miners that originated from nations Canada was at war with, and interned them at the town's ice rink. In the autumn they were moved to the abandoned townsite of Morrissey just south of Fernie, which was repurposed as an internment camp. <<>> *Video credit: Armistice Films*

This project has been made possible by a grant from the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund.

We respectfully acknowledge that Fernie lies within the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territory of the Ktunaxa First Nation.

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Tours

From the Coal Pit to the Barbed Wire

How Internment Came to Fernie

Fernie was the centre of coal mining in the Kootenay region, and when the war broke out many miners found themselves redesignated as 'enemy aliens.' In the dark days of 1915, the Allied miners threatened to strike unless all the 'enemy alien' miners were interned, resulting in the mass arrest of hundreds of miners. In this tour through downtown Fernie, we'll learn about the history of coal mining in this region, and see how the collapse of worker solidarity helped push Canada down the road to the mass internment of civilians on grounds of national origin.

Unearthing Injustice

Archaeology at Morrissey

After some time in Fernie, the miners interned at the ice rink were sent a short distance south to Morrissey, a disused mining camp. One of the camps with the worst reputations for the mistreatment of prisoners, the site of the camp is totally totally overgrown by thick forest. In this tour we will look at the recent archaeological excavations of the site by Sara Beaulieu and her team from the University of the Fraser Valley. We will show how her numerous findings help fill in many gaps in this dark chapter of Canadian history.

Explore

Fernie

Then and Now Photos

Victoria Hotel

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00177

1898

The Victoria Hotel in 1898, shortly after the founding of the town. A crowd of people brave the winter temperatures to pose for a photo out front of the hotel. Scaffolding all around the hotel indicates it was still under construction at the time. The hotel would be burned down in one of the several gigantic fires that swept through Fernie in the 1900s.

Postcard of Victoria Avenue

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00514-03

ca. 1900s

A postcard view of Fernie's Victoria Avenue, which we today call 2nd Avenue. You can see a great crowd of people on the sidewalks, but surprisingly little vehicle traffic.

Pedestrians on Victoria Ave

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00101

ca. 1900s

A large crowd of pedestrians crowd the sidewalks of Victoria Ave. On the right is P. Burns & Co. Meats. The rancher turned businessman Pat Burns was one of the richest men and most successful entrepreneurs in British Columbia at the time.

2nd Ave in Winter

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00033

ca. 1900s

Two men stand amid great drifts of snow on Victoria Avenue, or as we know it today, 2nd Avenue.

Fernie Across the Tracks

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00166

1908

A view of Fernie just after the great fire of 1908, which shows the only part of the city to have escaped the great conflagration.

Manager's House

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00512

1908

This was the home of J.D. Hurd, General Manager of the Crowsnest Pass Coal Co. The home was built in 1901 and constructed in the Queen Anne style, which was popular at the time.

Rebuilding Fernie

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00154

1908

Stacks of lumber and building materials in Victoria Ave (today's 2nd Ave.) show the rapid work of rebuilding underway after the devastating fire of 1908.

Temporary CPR Depot

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00164

1908

This shows the temporary train depot quickly built just after the great fire of 1908. The station and water tower haven't been painted and have clearly just been constructed. The scaffolding around the water tower indicates that it hasn't been finished yet. These would be replaced shortly after once relief efforts had been completed.

Flooding at the Ice Rink

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00435

ca. 1910s

Flooding on the Elk River has left Fernie's Ice Rink half submerged. The ice rink was used as a temporary internment camp in the summer of 1915 for miners from the Elk Valley and Crowsnest Pass who were deemed 'enemy aliens.'

Fernie Station

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00306

This was Fernie's Canadian Pacific Railway station. The building has been preserved, but today it is a popular diner.

Fernie Brewing

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00109

ca. 1910s

Fernie's Brewery, located on the western side of the Elk River. There is a Fernie Brewing Company that still operates today on the north side of town.

Kootenay Answers!'

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00240

1915

A train departs Fernie's station carrying men local men off to fight in France. The banner on the car indicates that they are from the 8th Platoon of B Company of the Kootenay Battalion. Smiling men poke their heads out of the windows, unaware of the horrors that await them in the trenches.

Funeral Procession

Fernie & District Historical Society FMP_00094

1928

A funeral procession proceeds from the Holy Family Catholic Church. It is led by a horsedrawn hearst and a number of men walking alongside, and followed by a long convoy of cars. At right is Fernie's Meat Market.