The first local memorial to the Great War was erected before the war had even ended. A wooden tablet, carved with the names of the nine local men who had been killed up until that time, was unveiled on 1 April 1917, on the corner where Cook Street now joins Canyon Street and 10th Avenue North.
Major Mallandaine, O.C. of the Forestry Draft, unveiled the tablet with the hope that one day the citizens of Creston might erect a monument of more lasting material. The tablet design was worked out by Major Mallandaine, and the handiwork of Pts. Thompson, Harkness, and Reed. The lettering was the work of Sergeant Crowe, paymaster of the 107th (East Kootenay Militia).
Within days, there was talk of committees being formed to plan a more permanent monument. In May of 1921, Creston accepted a design by the Kootenay Granite and Monument Co. of Nelson. The design, by H.B. Downs, is 13 feet high and adorned by four bronze wreaths. There are four bronze sockets into which flags may be set for special occasions. The monument is of Sirdar granite, which was brought to Creston and finished – but not polished. A bronze tablet lists the names of the Valley soldiers killed during the war. The memorial was unveiled on November 11, 1922.
