Moyie Lake, British Columbia, Canada
Looking along Moyie Lake, August 2010
Fishing on the lake
Moyie Lake produces kokanee to 30 cm (12 in), rainbow and bull trout average 1.5 kg (3.3 lb), eastern brook trout to 1 kg (2.2 lb) and cutthroat to 0.5 kg (1 lb). Trolling and flycasting methods are widely used with much luck.
Village of Moyie
Moyie was first developed in 1897, today Moyie is a quiet retirement community. Its former glory can still be found in its restored heritage buildings: the fire station, the landmark St. Peter's Catholic Church and the Kokanee Cove Pub, which was built from parts of the old Manhattan Hotel.
St. Eugene Mine
In 1893, rich galena deposits were discovered near Moyie Lake by a Ktunaxa man by the name of Pielle. Pielle took the galena to Father Nicolas Coccola, then head of the St. Eugene Mission, who sent the samples to Spokane for analysis. Upon learning that the ore contained high percentages of silver, Coccola, Pielle and a Spokane developer by the name of James Cronin each staked a claim above Moyie Lake and registered them in Fort Steele on June 25.
Pielle and Father Coccola both sold their claims in 1895 for $12,000. Father Coccola used the profits to construct a hospital and the St. Eugene Church in the St. Eugene Mission. Miners and other fortune seekers began to rush to the area and throughout the next decade the St. Eugene Mine produced more than $10,000,000 in ore and was the catalyst for the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company, later known as Cominco.
All that remains of the St. Eugene Mine are piles of mine tailings and concrete foundations.