July 27, 2012 | Tips from Travellers >
Smithers, Museums
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Did you know that if it were not for Telkwa, Smithers wouldn’t exist? On my trip to the Telkwa Museum I learned that Telkwa, which was originally known as Aldermere, was first settled in 1904 and in no time, became home to the Bulkley Valley’s first general store, post office, hotel and newspaper. When land prospectors heard that the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway would be coming to town they quickly snatched up land in the Telkwa area, hoping to make a pretty penny. Instead the railway decided to pass by the prime real-estate and place a railway stop in the middle of a swamp about 15 km further down the line. This swamp is what would later become the lively town of Smithers. Once I found out that Telkwa, our little sister town down the road, is actually older than Smithers I was eager to find out more! So I picked up a brochure for a walking tour through historic Telkwa and I set off. The entire tour has 26 stops, but one of my favorite was St. Stephen’s Anglican Church. The building is over 100 years old and is surrounded by a quaint little garden with a rustic gate. I also enjoyed my walk over the Telkwa Train Bridge, the original bridge was built in 1937, but the current one has been restructured and equipped with a safe pedestrian path. All of these sites are in walking distance and I found that the best way to enjoy them was with an ice-cream cone in-hand, so make sure you snag a snack from the little ice-cream booth right beside the museum before you head out.