Wardner is a small town located 27 km east of Cranbrook and 26 km west of Fernie. The unincorporated settlement runs parallel to the Kootenay River beside Highway 3/93. Wardner began development in 1897 after Jim Wardner sold 144 acres to Simon and William Guggenheim. The two brothers built a smelter on the property and divided the remaining land into smaller sized lots, thus starting a boom town.