Rossland sprang up in the early 1890s following the discovery of gold on Red Mountain - a single claim was later to produce $30 million. Originally known as Thompson, the townsite was named in 1892 for local miner Ross Thompson.

Mining activity began in 1896 when the Red Mountain Railway constructed a line from Northport, Washington, to Rossland. The following year a smelter was opened at Trail Creek Landing. In 1898 with many mines in operation, the Canadian Pacific Railway became involved when they purchased the original smelter and laid its track up the mountain.

In the early 1900s, the first of a series of disasters that marked the decline of Rossland mines occurred - a long miners' strike combined with the largest mine going bankrupt, putting hundreds out of work. 1902 (the year of peak production for the mines) saw the first of many fires that wiped out the business district of the city. In 1905 the first mergers took place that were to create the Cominco complex.

Under Cominco the various mines were connected by underground tunnels and operated from a central shaft. The decline continued, however, and in 1922 the Great Northern Railroad removed their tracks. Two more fires in 1927 and 1929 destroyed the city centre and in 1930, Red Mountain was closed after almost 40 years' production. Today the Le Roi Mine which closed in 1929 still goes deep into and below Red Mountain. It is the focal point of the Rossland Mining Museum which conducts tours into the workings and preserves and demonstrates much of the equipment used in hard-rock mining.