The Doukhobor museum in Castlegar tells about the roots the Russian religious group left in the West Kootenays between 1908 and 1938.
In 1895 in Russia 7000 members of the denomination destroyed their weapons to show the tsar and the Russian-Orthodox church that they opposed war for religious reasons. They were repressed in the tsardom because of their belief, and in 1899 about 7000 Doukhobors found a new home in Canada.
Between 1908 and 1912 about 5000 members settled in the Kootenays. Over 90 church communities were founded where they lived an almost monastery life. They brought agricultural and handcraft skills into the region.
The wide and sunny valley of today’s Castlegar provided extremely fertile soil and ideal agricultural conditions. 1913 the suspension bridge to Zuckerberg Island was built and the chapel constructed which is still standing.
After the death of their great religious leader Peter V. Verigin and because of financial losses in the great depression of the nineteen-twenties their communities broke apart and their lifestyle became lost.
Like other settlements in the area Castlegar also was connected to the world through railroads. The 90 year old CPR Canadian Pacific Railway museum in the center of the town is an old railway station. Many artifacts of the pioneer days are displayed.
Today Castlegar is a main shopping and economic center of the region. Its airport offers daily flights from and to Vancouver and Calgary.
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