Fletcher Store
Welcome to the oldest town in the West Kootenays! George J. Ainsworth made mining claims in this region and was working the Lulu claim on Woodbury Creek in 1884. By 1891 Ainsworth was booming and boasted 2 general stores, a post office, 4 hotels, saloons, and many homes. The original store in this location was first owned by the Lindsay Merchantile Company. It was sold to, and name
d after Henry Giegerich in 1891. In 1913 John Bradley Fletcher was hired to run the store. Fletcher purchased the store in the late 1920`s and changed the name to J.B. Fletcher. He and his family ran the store for 60 years and closed in 1973. The Fletcher family established the J.B. Fletcher Restoration Society in 1988 to help preserve the region’s heritage.
