While at first glance "Fernie" might not seem to be particularly significant as far as names go, it is actually another legacy of the past that continues to be a reminder of the historical roots of our city to this day. It tells the story of William Fernie, a man not only famous for the coal he discovered here over 100 years ago but also for the legend of how he is said to have found this valuable resource in the first place. >If you've ever been to Fernie once the snow has left the hills, you're sure to have noticed the majestic Hosmer Mountain, which lies to the northwest of town and displays on its rocky face at sunset, the shadow we locals call the "ghostrider". This image resembles the figure of a young woman riding a horse, with a man standing beside her and is now the only remains of a curse that an Indian chief once placed on our valley.

Legend has it that when William Fernie, Gold Commissioner for the Kootenays, arrived in this area he met a young Indian princess who wore a necklace of beautiful black stones. Vowing to marry her should her father (the Indian Chief) show him the whereabouts of the jewels, Fernie broke his promise once told where to find the rich deposits of coal.

Not surprisingly, the Chief was more than unhappy with Fernie's actions regarding his daughter, and so put a curse on the area that would ensure many hardships to follow, including fire, flood and famine. With the fires of 1904 and 1908, the flood of 1916, and the famine-like conditions of the Great Depression, the townspeople believed that the Chief's wishes had come true. While the curse was lifted through a ceremony in the 1960s, the Ghostrider remains ever present at sunset to remind us of our founder's actions. The discovery of coal by William Fernie in 1897 led to the formation of the Crowsnest Pass Coal Company, and in turn to the establishment of the City of Fernie, which was named in honour of the miner who had helped to create its primary industry. In addition to being recognized as the "Pittsburgh of the North" in its early days, Fernie was sometimes referred to as the "Whiskey Gap" during Prohibition in the 1920s when it was an established corridor running between Alberta and Montana. While they have long since been covered over and are no longer accessible to anyone, underground tunnels once used for bootlegging still form a network beneath our streets.

As mentioned above, Fernie experienced two major fires in its early history, one in the year it was incorporated as a city (1904) and another in 1908. While the first fire destroyed much of our town's wooden business district, the "Great Fire" that occurred four years later nearly leveled the entire community. After starting near West Fernie where some unattended spot fires were burning, the fire swept through town leaving only 37 buildings standing. Included among these were 10 businesses and a residential area that the fire inexplicably jumped (some of these pre-1908 homes can still be seen along Park Ave. and at the end of 1st Ave.).

Despite the incredible devastation to both citizens and their home and work places that the "Great Fire" had caused, the efforts of local townspeople following the disaster helped Fernie become stronger than ever in the years afterward. Only four months after the fire, a business district of stone and brick was well on its way to completion, and today, those same structures still stand as testimony to their hard work and efforts. You are encouraged to take the Heritage Walking Tour on your next visit to Fernie to discover more about this city's past.