This week, we rely on the prolific portfolio of the Hughes Brothers to feature a very early shot of what would become Warfield, likely taken around 1926.
The Hughes Brothers, Robert and Leslie, emigrated to Canada in the late 1910s. Robert made his way to Trail after a time in Ontario then Edgewood, soon following by his brother.
The business became Hughes Brothers Studio around 1925 and operated from 1358 Cedar Avenue until 1945.
Their collection is filled with what may appear random or mundane shots of our growing city, smelter, and neighbourhoods; this image is a good example of that.
It captures what would be the top of Schofield Highway as it winds into Warfield.
Based on other images in the series, that is likely the photographer’s automobile parked near the railway crossing that once cut across the highway and paralleled the highway (now Lauriente Way).
Warfield is named for Carlos Warfield, a good friend and personal secretary of Fritz Augustus Heinze.
The name Warfield memorialized by Heinze forever when he assigned the name to a stop along his narrow-gauge tramway running from the Columbia River in downtown Trail Creek Landing to the mines in Rossland
It wasn’t until 1938 that development in earnest began to occur in upper Warfield.
That year, 316 lots were plotted and 150 low cost homes were constructed by CM&S (now Teck Trail Operations).
They were offered for sale to their employees.
The company even had a mortgage plan developed for their employees.
Much had happened in the 1920s and 1930s at the smelter, including the new zinc plant and, of course, the development of fertilizer operations.
To encourage a stable labour force, it was in the best interest of the company to offer much more than just a job.
Warfield officially incorporated in December 1952.
We are grateful for the foresight of local photographers like the Hughes Brothers, whose curation of “everyday” images have made for a progressive record of regional development and growth.
