Since first opening in the early 1900s, the two-storey Midway Hotel on Fifth Avenue has been a cultural cornerstone of Boundary Country.
As Midway’s first hotel, it long served as a vital hub, though early years were marked by a tragic event.
In 1908, pioneer Charles Thomet, who had purchased the hotel that year, was fatally shot by two masked bandits.
Thomet, born in Switzerland in 1860, crossed the sea to Oregon in 1883 before being drawn to the Boundary in 1893 by booming mining activity.
After staking land claims in Rock Creek, Midway, and Greenwood, and serving on the Provincial Police Force training bloodhounds to track thieves, Thomet settled here with his wife Bertha whom he met in Portland.
On an otherwise regular Tuesday night, two masked men entered the hotel’s side door, shot Thomet dead, and fled. Despite fatal wounds, Thomet fired a single shot, striking an attacker.
The Boundary Creek Times reported Thomet’s “brave death” in a 1908 article titled “Charles L. Thomet meets his death at the hands of brigands.”
Bertha and their five children carried on running the hotel, preserving its legacy for years.
Decades later, a fallen “L” would grant the establishment a local nickname: the Midway Hot-L.
Monica Philip Shalay acquired the business in 2010 and operated the Hot-L as a bar and restaurant through 2018 but ultimately closed the doors.
The building was then dormant for a while before finding new ownership in 2024 after being listed for sale in 2023.
In 2025, Hotel Midway is open again as a one-star heritage hotel managed by Carissa from Abbotsford.
Inspired by the “rich history” of the area, “I am working with an amazing team on the restoration and running of the Hotel Midway,” she said.
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