Ernest and Bertha Harrop were the founders of the community of Harrop, opening the first general store and operating Harrop's first Post Office in 1907.
Harrop turned 100 in 2007 and had a party. As part of the celebration, it had two signs made - this one and another, across the river at the ferry landing. They are both on Harrop Ferry Road. This one, the
Welcome to Harrop sign is dedicated to the Harrops.
At one time Harrop and Procter were the transportation hubs of the area. The railway runs through on this, the south side, of the river and in the late 19th and early 20th centuries this was the terminus where sternwheelers which plied Kootenay Lake met the railway. When the sternwheelers were taken off the lake, the fortunes of the towns ebbed.
Harrop and Procter
Harrop-Procter refers to an area of land that borders the east side of West Arm Provincial Park and Kootenay Lake in the east containing the two small villages of Harrop and Procter. The two communities are about 7 km (4 miles) apart from each other with a main road that connects the two called the Harrop-Procter Hwy.
'Procter's Landing'
Procter was originally called 'Procter's Landing' in 1891 after Thomas G. Procter erected a fishing lodge on Kootenay Lake. During the 1900's, the community prospered with sawmills, hotels, the CPR Railway and served as a destination point for holiday travellers coming from Nelson aboard the CPR steamer, M.V. Nasookin. The last major employer Kootenay Water Transport Company closed in 1977 and Procter is now a retirement and cottage community.
Harrop
Harrop first started with a sawmill in 1889 and later with Ernest Harrop establishing a general store and post office in 1907. In time Harrop had fruit orchards, a packing house plus a CPR terminus serving a railway transport link from Nelson connecting with a landing and wharves at Sunshine Bay for sternwheelers to service Kootenay Lake mines.
From Our BC