The two brothers built a smelter on the property and divided the remaining land into smaller sized lots, thus starting a boom town.

In 1901 Jay A. Humphreys built a planer and saw mill to process the local lumber harvested from the area.

Steamboats were used to move materials and people to the other local towns up until 1909 when a road bridge was built across the Kootenay River.

Many of the businesses were shut down and people were out of jobs; however, the mill began operating again and changed ownership multiple times until it was finally sold in 1962 for parts.

With the construction of the Libby Dam, the Canadian Pacific Railway rerouted the tracks to go through Fort Steele instead of Wardner and the highway was moved upriver away from the town due to the water level of the reservoir.