Golden, British Columbia
History
In 1807, David Thompson – renowned fur trader, surveyor, and map maker – was tasked by the North West Company to open a trading route to the lucrative trading territories of the Pacific Northwest. He first crossed over the Rocky Mountains and travelled along the Blaeberry River to the future site of Golden.
In 1881 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hired surveyor A. B. Rogers to find a rail route through the Selkirk and Rocky Mountains, and in 1882 he found the pass now named for him. Rogers established a base camp for his survey crew led by a man named McMillan. Initially known as McMillan's Camp, the settlement was the beginning of the town of Golden. By 1884, in response to a nearby lumber camp naming itself Silver City, the residents of McMillan's Camp, headed by Baptiste Morigeau, decided not to be outdone and renamed the settlement Golden City. The word city was later dropped.
In the late 1890s the CPR began importing Swiss mountain guides to assist travellers attracted to the area to explore the surrounding mountains, Glacier National Park, Yoho National Park and the Rogers Pass region, as part of their efforts to promote tourism to the mountain parks area. The railway built a group of chalet-style house in a section that became known as Edelweiss, some of them still standing, to encourage the guide to bring their families to Canada and remain year-round. The men made many of the first ascents of area mountains and helped pioneer the ski industry in the region.
Golden is also the site of notable South Asian Canadian history, after Sikh settlers first arrived in Golden in 1902 to work at the Columbia River Lumber Company. These early settlers built the first gurdwara (Sikh temple) in North America in 1905, which burned down in 1926.
Much of the town's history is tied into the CPR and the logging industry. The town's economy still relies heavily on those two influences, but the development of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, along with other outdoor adventure companies, has allowed the town to diversify into tourism. Mount 7, which is just southeast of town, is also an outdoor activity destination. The town forms part of the Golden Triangle cycle route.
Kicking Horse Pedestrian Bridge is the longest freestanding timber-framed bridge in Canada. Planned as a community project by the Timber Framers Guild, volunteers from Golden were joined by carpenters and timber framers from the United States and from Europe. The bridge structure is 46 metres (150 ft) long, with a 95-tonne (210,000 lb) Burr arch structure. The bridge was completed in September 2001.
In June 2021, the Golden Skybridge opened. The bridge is the highest suspension bridge in Canada.
The Golden meteorites fell there on October 4, 2021.
Geography
Golden is nestled in the Rocky Mountain Trench, built around the confluence of the Columbia and Kicking Horse rivers, surrounded by three different mountain ranges (most notably the Purcell Mountains and Rocky Mountains) and five national parks: Yoho National Park, Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Glacier National Park, and Kootenay National Park.
Golden is on Highway 1 (the Trans-Canada Highway), and it is the northern terminus of Highway 95, connecting it to the United States via the rest of the East Kootenay region and the city of Cranbrook, British Columbia (B.C. Highway 95 is a continuation of U.S. Route 95, which runs north-to-south through the U.S. and into Mexico). The Trans-Canada Highway east of Golden has numerous upgrade projects ongoing to greatly improve the roadway west of the Yoho National Park boundary. The Ten Mile Hill section of the project was recently completed and is a major upgrade to the old highway.
Climate
Golden has a climate with influences of the humid continental (Dfb) and semi-arid (BSk) varieties. Summers are warm but rarely hot, with winters being somewhat moderated in comparison to areas east of the Rockies. Annual snowfall is heavy, averaging 184 centimetres (72 in).
| Climate data for Golden Airport | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high humidex | 6.7 | 8.4 | 19.6 | 25.5 | 34.2 | 41.0 | 38.5 | 38.4 | 32.0 | 22.4 | 11.2 | 5.4 | 41.0 |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
12.2 (54.0) |
20.2 (68.4) |
28.9 (84.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
40.7 (105.3) |
40.0 (104.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
33.9 (93.0) |
25.6 (78.1) |
17.2 (63.0) |
10.0 (50.0) |
40.7 (105.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.3 (24.3) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
6.6 (43.9) |
13.3 (55.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
21.7 (71.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
18.4 (65.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
10.7 (51.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.9 (17.8) |
−5 (23) |
0.8 (33.4) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.3 (52.3) |
14.9 (58.8) |
17.3 (63.1) |
16.7 (62.1) |
11.5 (52.7) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−2 (28) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
5.1 (41.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.5 (11.3) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
−5 (23) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
4.1 (39.4) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.0 (50.0) |
9.1 (48.4) |
4.6 (40.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−5 (23) |
−10.9 (12.4) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −46.1 (−51.0) |
−39.4 (−38.9) |
−31.7 (−25.1) |
−19.4 (−2.9) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−2.8 (27.0) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−18.3 (−0.9) |
−32.8 (−27.0) |
−43.9 (−47.0) |
−46.1 (−51.0) |
| Record low wind chill | −42.3 | −31.2 | −28.1 | −14.3 | −5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | −4.5 | −15 | −29.9 | −38 | −42.3 |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45.9 (1.81) |
24.1 (0.95) |
24.4 (0.96) |
24.4 (0.96) |
34.5 (1.36) |
49.7 (1.96) |
50.6 (1.99) |
45.3 (1.78) |
38.0 (1.50) |
34.9 (1.37) |
51.1 (2.01) |
43.9 (1.73) |
466.8 (18.38) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 6.4 (0.25) |
5.5 (0.22) |
14.1 (0.56) |
21.9 (0.86) |
33.3 (1.31) |
49.7 (1.96) |
50.6 (1.99) |
45.3 (1.78) |
38.0 (1.50) |
32.3 (1.27) |
21.6 (0.85) |
6.4 (0.25) |
325.2 (12.80) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 45.3 (17.8) |
20.7 (8.1) |
12.1 (4.8) |
2.5 (1.0) |
1.1 (0.4) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
2.8 (1.1) |
31.8 (12.5) |
42.5 (16.7) |
158.7 (62.5) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 14.6 | 9.1 | 9.8 | 10.6 | 12.5 | 15.4 | 13.7 | 13.2 | 10.6 | 12.1 | 13.9 | 13.5 | 148.8 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 2.4 | 2.7 | 6.3 | 9.9 | 12.4 | 15.4 | 13.7 | 13.2 | 10.6 | 11.3 | 6.8 | 1.9 | 106.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.2 cm) | 13.5 | 7.1 | 4.8 | 1.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 8.2 | 12.8 | 49.5 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 81.2 | 70.7 | 53.6 | 38.8 | 38.6 | 42.4 | 42.0 | 44.2 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 80.4 | 82.2 | 57.0 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 25.2 | 55.3 | 111.3 | 155.2 | 209.6 | 194.1 | 227.0 | 228.9 | 162.5 | 85.0 | 26.1 | 12.9 | 1,492.9 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 9.7 | 19.6 | 30.3 | 37.4 | 43.5 | 39.2 | 45.5 | 50.7 | 42.7 | 25.6 | 9.7 | 5.2 | 29.9 |
| Source: ECCC | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 3,476 | — |
| 1986 | 3,584 | +3.1% |
| 1991 | 3,721 | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 3,968 | +6.6% |
| 2001 | 4,020 | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 3,811 | −5.2% |
| 2011 | 3,701 | −2.9% |
| 2016 | 3,708 | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 3,986 | +7.5% |
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Golden had a population of 3,986 living in 1,734 of its 1,892 total private dwellings, a change of 7.5% from its 2016 population of 3,708. With a land area of 11.33 km (4.37 sq mi), it had a population density of 351.8/km (911.2/sq mi) in 2021.
Ethnicity
| Panethnic group |
2021 | 2016 | 2006 | 2001 | 1996 | 1991 | 1986 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | ||||||
| European | 3,200 | 82.05% | 2,910 | 80.95% | 3,310 | 87.68% | 3,405 | 85.66% | 3,440 | 87.42% | 3,030 | 82.11% | 2,965 | 84.23% | |||||
| Indigenous | 330 | 8.46% | 360 | 10.01% | 160 | 4.24% | 255 | 6.42% | 215 | 5.46% | 265 | 7.18% | 165 | 4.69% | |||||
| South Asian | 180 | 4.62% | 125 | 3.48% | 200 | 5.3% | 250 | 6.29% | 250 | 6.35% | 340 | 9.21% | 345 | 9.8% | |||||
| Southeast Asian | 100 | 2.56% | 40 | 1.11% | 10 | 0.26% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 25 | 0.68% | 5 | 0.14% | |||||
| East Asian | 40 | 1.03% | 140 | 3.89% | 75 | 1.99% | 60 | 1.51% | 25 | 0.64% | 15 | 0.41% | 25 | 0.71% | |||||
| Latin American | 10 | 0.26% | 10 | 0.28% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.28% | |||||
| African | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.25% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | |||||
| Middle Eastern | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 15 | 0.41% | 5 | 0.14% | |||||
| Other/Multiracial | 0 | 0% | 20 | 0.56% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Total responses | 3,900 | 97.84% | 3,595 | 96.95% | 3,775 | 99.06% | 3,975 | 98.88% | 3,935 | 99.17% | 3,690 | 99.17% | 3,520 | 98.21% | |||||
| Total population | 3,986 | 100% | 3,708 | 100% | 3,811 | 100% | 4,020 | 100% | 3,968 | 100% | 3,721 | 100% | 3,584 | 100% | |||||
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses | |||||||||||||||||||
Religion
According to the 2021 census, religious groups in Golden included:
- Irreligion (2,430 persons or 62.3%)
- Christianity (1,225 persons or 31.4%)
- Sikhism (115 persons or 2.9%)
- Hinduism (40 persons or 1.0%)
- Buddhism (15 persons or 0.4%)
- Other (55 persons or 1.4%)
| Religious group | 2021 | 2011 | 2001 | 1991 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Christian | 1,225 | 31.41% | N/A | N/A | 2,240 | 56.35% | 2,280 | 61.79% |
| Sikh | 115 | 2.95% | N/A | N/A | 165 | 4.15% | 300 | 8.13% |
| Hindu | 40 | 1.03% | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0% | 15 | 0.41% |
| Buddhist | 15 | 0.38% | N/A | N/A | 20 | 0.5% | 30 | 0.81% |
| Muslim | 0 | 0% | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0% | 40 | 1.08% |
| Jewish | 0 | 0% | N/A | N/A | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Other religion | 55 | 1.41% | N/A | N/A | 35 | 0.88% | 10 | 0.27% |
| Irreligious | 2,430 | 62.31% | N/A | N/A | 1,495 | 37.61% | 1,020 | 27.64% |
| Total responses | 3,900 | 97.84% | N/A | N/A | 3,975 | 98.88% | 3,690 | 99.17% |
Economy
Golden has a service-based economy, relying heavily on tourism and services for tourists. Golden also features shops and other businesses, and a large number of hotels.
Education
Public education is provided by School District 6 Rocky Mountain which operates 3 primary schools and one secondary school. Community College education is offered by the Golden Campus of the College of the Rockies.
Sports
| Club | League | Sport | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Rockets | KIJHL | Ice Hockey | Golden Arena | 1991 | 0 |
Notable people
 | This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2023) |
- Doug Barrault, retired hockey player
- Dillon Dubé, NHL player with the Calgary Flames
- David Duncan, freestyle skier
- Curtis McKenzie, NHL player with the Dallas Stars
- Patricia Owens, actress
- Sara Renner, Olympic medal-winning cross country skier