Fort Steele is a heritage site in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia.

In 1864, John Galbraith arrived to prospect for gold on Wild Horse Creek but soon switched to more lucrative business opportunities.

[4] John also established a general store, which with the ferry, greatly profited from the early goldfield traffic to the Fisherville mining camp.

[8] The annual ferry licence, which was initially $500, was lowered to $200 by 1867, because most miners had abandoned the creek for brighter prospects.

[4] The 1894 flood destroyed this 140-metre (450 ft) structure, which was superseded by Howe truss approaches and an opening span.

[12] In 1887, Superintendent Sam Steele arrived with a detachment of the NWMP to defuse tensions between settlers and local First Nations.

Lacking this fire protection resource,[50] most of the business section burned to the ground in the December 1906 blaze.

[55] Robert Galbraith, who owned much of the land around Fort Steele, sold a key part of his Joseph's Prairie holdings to Colonel James Baker[2] in 1885.

In constructing westward from the Crowsnest Pass, many assumed that Fort Steele, the only suitable place of any substance, would be the divisional point.

The simple story was that Colonel James Baker willingly gave CP every second townsite lot and the railyard land from his Joseph's Prairie property, knowing he would profit from the development of Cranbrook.

Robert Galbraith refused to make a similar concession for a line passing though Fort Steele.

By the mid-1890s, the public believed the railway would pass through each location, which increased buyer demand for subdivision lots.

[57] In 1898, the railway track crossed the Kootenay River at Wardner, bypassing Fort Steele on the way to Cranbrook.

[64] Being the first NWMP post in BC, Fort Steele was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1925.

[67] Authentic Fort Steele buildings, some of which were moved to within the present site, include the schoolhouse, two churches, the Opera House,[20] and Windsor hotel.

[68] The site includes some reconstructed replicas, smaller buildings salvaged from the region, a selection of early machinery, and railway artifacts.

Visitors can have their images captured in old-time brownish tones at the photo studio, practise gold panning, take horse-drawn rides, and watch demonstrations, such as blacksmithing.

[69] During summer, steam train rides are offered on a 2.5-mile (4 km) return journey, with a short stop at the "St. Mary's look-out".