Kaslo was founded in 1891 when George T. Kane pre-empted the land and sent his brother David P. Kane to settle there while he went to Victoria to form the Kaslo Kootenay Land Co. It was settled because of its proximity to mining areas to the west and north. It quickly inherited a large population from its southern neighbour Ainsworth and grew to become one of the largest communities in the British Columbia interior at the time (approximately 5,500 population).