VANDERHOOF

VANDERHOOF

Is a small town situated on the geographic center of British Columbia and in the Nechako Valley, Vanderhoof is a district municipality and is named after Herbert Vanderhoof, a successful Chicago, Illinois promoter and supporter, who conducted a campaign to draw settlers to Western Canada. Vanderhoof was laid out as a townsite before World War One (WWI), when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began track through Vanderhoof west to Prince Rupert. In 1926, almost a decade after World War One (WWI) was over; Vanderhoof became an incorporated as a village. During the 1950s, construction of the Kenney Dam, a power-producing reservoir, which provides power to the Alcan smelter in Kitimat was built, and provided major economic and employable boost to the community of Vanderhoof. The other major economies include forestry and agriculture. Vanderhoof is home to an air show held here every summer, and is considered one of the largest camp-in air shows in North America in addition to attracting 25,000 spectators a year. The College of New Caledonia boasts a satellite campus in Vanderhoof and provides diploma programs for students. Highway #27 is a medium-traveled highway that goes from 7 kilometers west of Vanderhoof to the small town of Fort St. James, 57 kilometers to the north.

VANDERHOOF’S POPULATION: 4,401