14

Given Trail's remote location in the interior of British Columbia and its close, often tumultuous proximity to the wild Columbia River, transportation to Trail Creek Landing relied heavily on the water. Sternwheelers regularly docked at Trail Creek Landing, unloading passengers heading for the mines in Rossland and reloading with ore bound for smelters in the United States.

15

Sternwheeler and downtown Trail
1899
Trail Creek Landing, Trail, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
Trail City Archives
Teck Cominco

16

Sternwheeler S.S. Trail - model built by Bert Learmonth
2002
Trail Museum, Trail, British Columbia

Credits:
Trail Museum

17

In 1895, Topping provided land to F. Augustus Heinze, a mining tycoon from Butte, Montana, to build a smelter to treat the Rossland ores.

18

Fritz Augustus Heinze, builder of the Trail smelter
1889
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
Trail City Archives

19

Prior to this, ore was shipped by boat to smelters south of the border. Heinze eventually sold his smelter to the CPR in 1898, which expanded production to include lead ores. Despite the difficult economic times, the smelter succeeded.

20

Heinze's smelter just prior to being sold to the CPR
1898
Trail, British Columbia, Canada

Credits:
Trail City Archives

21

With the construction and success of the smelter, the sternwheelers soon gave way to better forms of transportation, particularly the railroad. The new railway system connected the many growing communities in the area and made the transfer of ore from Rossland to Trail, a much more economical and safe process.