The initial orchards of the West Kootenays were established in the 1890s. However, it wasn’t until more than a decade later that fruit ranching as an industry took off.
Among the first to plant fruit trees in the area was Charles Wesley Busk, a civil engineer from England. In 1889, he preempted 200 acres at the mouth of the West Arm, declared the land “Balfour,” and on four of those acres established his home and one of the earliest orchards in the West Kootenays. He hoped that his townsite would become the centre of fruit farming in the area. But alas, sandy soil and a poor water supply inhibited the fruition of his vision.1
Another pioneer orchardist was Thomas Greggs Procter, who, using Chinese labour, developed one of the first orchards on Kootenay Lake. Additionally, he founded Procter and was one of the most passionate promoters of the area between 1890 and 1910.2
1. Cone, Kootenay Outlet Reflections, 423-425
2. Affleck, Kootenay Outlet Reflections, 144