100 years ago in Spokane: Mine president pledges $5,000 for highway from Spokane to Nelson, B.C.

Conrad Wolfle, president of the United Copper Mine of Chewelah, pledged $5,000 toward building a paved highway from Spokane to the British Columbia border, and then on to the city of Nelson.

He was convinced that the highway would be a tremendous tourist draw for Stevens and Spokane counties.

“The world’s tourists traveling through Canada could be induced to come down the beautiful upper and lower Arrow Lake, the Kootenai lakes, Crow’s Nest Pass road, or several other scenic routes to Nelson, thence by motor to Spokane, through the grandest and most picturesque country on the North American continent, outrivaling the landscape scenes of Lake Killarney and the Glens of Wales – a veritable hunter’s paradise,” Wolfle said.

He also said “the ailing would flock here to our mineral springs and sanitariums and bask in our glorious sunshine for rapid recovery.”

He said that the mining men of Stevens County also would contribute money to the road fund, and the city of Nelson would “engineer the financing of the road between that city and Waneta.”

He predicted that Spokane would reap the benefit of “thousands of easy dollars yearly.”