The fairview story

The Hotel Fairview (pictured) was an iconic building in the town of Fairview, among many others. Three buildings from Fairview still exist today in Oliver and Okanagan Falls. Do you know which ones they are?

Guess and check your answer below.

TRY THIS!

See a photo of a dance in Fairview and learn about life in the town.

fire!

Tragedy hit the Hotel Fairview when a fire broke out. Read the story below.

Gold in the hills

The first people in this area were the Okanagan or syilx Peoples. Early settlers and ranchers used the area to farm and graze cows as well. However, it was gold hidden underground that started the town of Fairview.

Miners “One-Armed Reed” and his partner Ryan tried gold-panning in the creeks, but there was not enough gold for them to stay. Then people realized that there was more gold in the ground than in the water. In 1887, Gwatkins and Sheenan staked the first mining claim, the Stemwinder. The first mine, called the Rattler, opened the next year. By 1892, there were ten mines, and special mills called stamp mills were built to take gold and quartz from the rock.

How Fairview Got its Name

One of the first mines was the Morning Star, owned by the Stratheyre Mining Company, which built a house across from the mine. The house was built on a ledge overlooking the valley with beautiful or “fair” views. It was because of this that the town was called Fairview.

boom and bust

Fairview “boomed,” or grew quickly. Many people came to work as miners, and stores opened. Hotels gave people places to live. The hotels we know the most about are the Golden Gate Hotel and the Hotel Fairview. People say the Hotel Fairview was the fanciest hotel in the whole Okanagan. It had three floors with a pointed wooden tower on the roof, and was famous for good food served on china plates with silver forks and spoons.

What was Fairview Like?

Fairview had horse stables, grocery stores, a drug store, a post office, a blacksmith, a butcher shop, a school, churches, a government building, and a jail. Men and women there had picnics, dances, and plays. Children played and went to school. Many families lived there, including the McCuddy family. Mr. McCuddy ran a store and Mrs. McCuddy ran the town post office. Their son Arthur grew up there. It was a busy town, since miners and travelers were always coming and going.

Decline of Fairview

Disaster struck in 1902 when the Hotel Fairview burned down, injuring many and killing three people, including the schoolteacher, Laurie Smith. The mines were also depleting of gold and in 1904, the Stemwinder, Fairview’s most important mine, shut down. The town’s populating declined, as miners and families left. Some people continued to live in Fairview, and there was one more burst of gold mining activity in the 1930s. However, most of the houses, stores, and mines are gone.

Fairview today

The population of Fairview drastically decreased when the mining operations ended and people moved away. Many of the original building are no longer on site or they have been repurposed. Currently, Fairview is a “neighbourhood” of Oliver, as there are still a few homes and people living in the area.

Some of the buildings at Fairview were taken apart and moved to the new town of Oliver. A church was moved to Okanagan Falls, where it is now the United Church. The judge’s house is still standing and is occupied. The Fairview Jail was one of the town’s last buildings, and was moved to the Oliver Museum property for everyone to enjoy.

Currently, Fairview Townsite has a few interpretive signs and walking trails, as well as remains from old houses. There are trees, native plants and other wildlife.