450 miles long, the major portion of the Dewdney Trail was engineered and built beginning in 1865 by
Edgar Dewdney, (November 5, 1835 - August 8, 1916), his having won the contract from the territory of British Columbia.
After the discovery of gold in the Similkimeen region, the government deemed it necessary to connect the area with the coast, and Dewdney and Walter Moberly were awarded the contract, at $496 per mile, completing the first section of the trail, from Hope to Princeton in 1861.
Then, in 1863, gold was discovered at
Wild Horse Creek, in the East Kootenays, and it became necessary to extend the trail to Wild Horse Creek, near
Fort Steele. Dewdney completed the second, larger, section, from Princeton to Wild Horse Creek, in just seven months, at a cost of $75,000.
The trail was only used for a couple of years before the gold seekers moved on and wagon roads were built to other destinations where gold and silver were found. Within five years the trail fell into disuse and nature began to reclaim it. Today, however, much of the Crowsnest Highway follows the original route.
The picnic table pictured below, at the back of the
High House Museum, rests on this section of the Dewdney Trail. The museum is at the far eastern edge of the little village of
Moyie.