Revelstoke, the Town between the Selkirk and the

Monashee Mountains

Present day Revelstoke was originally known as Farwell after the

surveyor Albert Stanhope Farwell who registered the site in 1883.  It

was destroyed by fire in 1885 but quickly rebuilt.

In 1886, the Canadian Pacific petitioned the government to change the

name of the town site from Farwell to Revelstoke. The name honoured

Edward Baring, First Lord Revelstoke, whose British banking firm had

saved the Canadian Pacific from bankruptcy.

Revelstoke and Railroading

Revelstoke was a pusher locomotive facility where helpers were added

to trains to move them both east over the Rogers Pass in the Selkirk

Mountains, and west over the Eagle Pass in the Monashee Mountains.

Revelstoke also became an important supply depot for the area,

particularly for mining operations to the south in the Slocan and

Kootenay Lakes district. Revelstoke is situated on the now south

flowing Columbia River 25 miles (40 km) north of Upper Arrow Lake

which in conjunction with Lower Arrow Lake provided a navigable

water route for 120 miles (193 km) to the south.