Since the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) in 1885, Golden has always been somewhat of a railway town, with large railway yards where trains were put together for the climb over the Continental Divide, to the east, or Rogers Pass, to the west. It was the CPR which recognized early on that it was in their best interest to present the mountain country of Alberta and British Columbia to the world as first rate tourist destinations. So it was that the CPR built world class accommodations in the mountains such as the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise.
In Golden, the CPR took a slightly different approach, advertising it as a more "hands on" tourist environment, encouraging tourists to hike and climb the many pristine peaks of the locale. To accomplish this, in 1896 the CPR began to import Swiss Guides to mountain country to guide the nineteenth century tourists on their mountain adventures, with the first guides to settle in Golden arriving in 1899. Hence the subject of our mural here.
Highway 95 enters the town from the south, eventually meeting the Trans Canada Highway at the north end of town. In the centre of town Highway 95 crosses over the Kicking Horse River. Just north of the truss bridge over the Kicking Horse one will find this mural on the east side of the brick Golden Dollar Store.
Read the full story of the
Swiss Guides in Canada.
Swiss Guides
The CPR recognized that many travellers through Golden would want to stay, explore and discover the incredible area for themselves. To this end, the CPR hired professional Swiss guides to assist in providing connections to this compelling yet rugged landscape. In 1899, Eduard Feuz Sr. and Christian Haesler came to Canada from Switzerland to serve as mountain guides. In 1911, the CPR built homes in Golden for their sons, Edward Feuz Jr. and Christian Haesler Jr., and their fellow guides, naming it the ‘Swiss Village’, or ‘Edelweiss.’
From Tourism Golden