Edgewood, British Columbia
Early community
Early community
---------------

A townsite was established in 1908, with a further subdivision in 1911 encompassing land about  westward and southward. The main settlement was about  north of the mouth of Inonoaklin Creek.

In 1909, Leonard Heaton was the inaugural teacher. In 1919, a new schoolhouse was built. Ferret Road was the boundary line between the Fire Valley and Edgewood school districts. The 1946 implementation of the 1945 Cameron Report into BC school financing and administration created centralized larger districts. The establishment of [School District 10 Arrow Lakes](/wiki/School_District_10_Arrow_Lakes "School District 10 Arrow Lakes") included the dissolving of such local school boards. As a consequence, Edgewood school captured the lower grades in the general area, while grades 6–7 attended [Inonoaklin Valley](/wiki/Inonoaklin_Valley%2C_British_Columbia "Inonoaklin Valley, British Columbia"), and the higher ones went to [Needles](/wiki/Needles%2C_British_Columbia "Needles, British Columbia"). In 1949, The Valley school closed, and the other two schools expanded.

The government wagon road to Needles, and the two\-storey, 12\-room Edgewood Hotel, opened in 1909\. That year, William J. Banting operated a store in a tent on the beach, erected a permanent general store, and became postmaster, a role commonly performed by a storeowner in such places. He held both roles until his death in 1951\. Around 1911, he built a larger store and a warehouse. The upper level of the latter comprised a hall used for church services, dances, social functions and showing movies. A 1917 fire destroyed both buildings, but he rebuilt a larger store.

In 1913, the hotel was remodelled and enlarged. In 1915, the place was renamed the Arrow Lake Hotel. By 1922, it comprised 24 bedrooms upstairs. In 1929, Arrow Inn was the rename. In 1955, fire destroyed the property.

Edgewood Pavilion, a.k.a. Naylor Hall, opened in 1915, and burned down in 1942\.

J.N. Mcleod and Jack Dority opened Edgewood Cash Grocery in 1924, and a garage in the early 1930s. The partnership dissolved when Dority relocated around 1935\. Oscar Forslund also operated a garage during this era. Fuel arrived by boat in drums for the store gas pumps. After his father's death, son Jack ran the store, which the new building replaced in 1967\.

In 1932, a new community hall opened, but no longer existed 15 years later. In 1935, John Egloff opened a hall on his property about a mile northwest of Edgewood. The hall was used for social events and showing movies. A cheese factory occupied the basement. A 1941 fire destroyed the building.

In 1912, the Edgewood Rural Telephone Co. began local service. The next year, the Dominion Government Telegraph Service opened the line to Nakusp. The link to [Castlegar](/wiki/Castlegar%2C_British_Columbia "Castlegar, British Columbia") opened in 1917, providing a connection to the [BC Tel](/wiki/BC_Tel "BC Tel") line to [Nelson](/wiki/Nelson%2C_British_Columbia "Nelson, British Columbia"). In 1961, BCTel bought the phone company.

In 1947, a three\-bed [Red Cross](/wiki/Canadian_Red_Cross "Canadian Red Cross") outpost opened. In 2011, the facility became the Edgewood Health Centre.

In 1952, the completion of the [Whatshan Dam](/wiki/Whatshan_Dam "Whatshan Dam") brought electricity to the valley. Television came in the early 1960s.


When did television arrive in Edgewood?