Midway B.C.

( CPR station Midway photo credit - J W Booth Sept.1981)

Midway was the end of the eastbound line for the Kettle Valley Railway, any freight cars travelling further east would be picked up by the Canadian Pacific and delivered to their final destinations. Midway is located at mile marker 296.7 from Hope B.C.

Around 1884, property owned by Louis Eholt became a popular stopping place for travellers. Initially it was just known as Eholt's. In 1893, Capt. Robert C. Adams purchased the property and created the townsite subdivision. The initial name was Boundary Creek or Boundary City, but this was changed to Midway by 1895. Adams never provided a rational reason for the new name. The generally accepted explanation is that the village lies approximately midway between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. A railway junction called Eholt later developed 28.6 km to the east.

The post office and school opened in 1894. A provincial police constable was stationed locally by about 1895, likely due to the mining boom in the area. During the mining boom the population peaked at around 700 in 1895, falling to around 200–250 by the end of the century and dropping to around 100 people by 1920. Current population is around 700 people.

In 1914, the CP Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) connected Midway to Penticton and then to Vancouver in 1915.

Midway finally was incorporated as a village in 1967.

The Kettle River Museum, which displays the Boundary area’s history, is the location of “Mile 0” of the Kettle Valley Railroad and located in the original station house. It was built in 1900 and houses exhibits commemorating the railways of Southern BC and the British Columbia Provincial Police Force.