Niagara is on the west side of the Granby River, near the junction with Fisherman Creek, in the

Boundary Country The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west o ...

region of south central

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The small community is about north of

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

on North Fork Rd.

Prosperity

In 1898, a

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

syndicate bought part of the "Gunnysack Jones" ranch, and laid out a townsite, in anticipation of the coming

Columbia and Western Railway The Columbia and Western Railway (C&W) was a historic, and initially narrow gauge, railway in southern British Columbia. Heinze ownership Proposal & planning Fritz Augustus Heinze, who opened a smelter at Butte, Montana in 1893, was seeking invest ...

(C&W), which was acquired by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

. The source of the name is unclear, but could either be the

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

, or the

USS Niagara USS ''Niagara'' may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy: *, was a brig launched in 1813, and served as Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie. Sunk for preservation in 1820, she was raised in 1913 and ...

, which served in the Spanish–American War that year. During the railway construction, a work camp was cut out of the mountainside for the nearby tunnel. The town experienced rapid growth and brief prosperity. Having 12 hotels at its peak, a stage coach ran daily to Grand Forks.

Fading

In 1900, the train station name changed to Fisherman, but the locality faded away after the railway construction workers moved on. The C&W siding was named for the creek, first mentioned in 1894, but not officially adopted until 1956. By 1918, all permanent residents had left. Niagara was by rail north of Grand Forks, and southeast of Eholt. The stop closed in 1955. The former residential and commercial properties are a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

. Several much later residences are concentrated near the river.

Virginia City

In 1898, upstream on the Granby, another town seeking to cash in on railway construction and mining prospects was surveyed. Although a hotel was allegedly under construction, the place faded into obscurity.

References

{{Reflist Ghost towns in British Columbia