Bonners Ferry Sportsman’s Paradise 1893 T-Shirt

When gold was discovered in the East Kootenays of British Columbia in 1863, prospectors from all over the West surged northward. Edwin Bonner established a ferry in 1864 where the trail crossed the broad Kootenai River. Edwin sold his ferry business in 1875, but the location retained his name, later becoming The Village of Bonners Ferry when it was formally established in 1893. The rich Kootenai River Valley became known as the “Nile of the North,” as the Bonners Ferry Lumber Company grew to be one of the world’s largest lumber mills and the town began growing at a steady pace, and today, much of Main Street dates from this period of development.