FORT LANGLEY

FORT LANGLEY
Is a subdivision and part of the township of Langley and community all of its own, located about 40 kilometers northeast of Vancouver in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It is named after Thomas Langley, a former official and employee of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1839, a new post was built 5 kilometers up from the Fraser River and was first known as Derby, closer to suitable farmland. When the original fort was destroyed by a massive fire in 1840, it was replaced and relocated close to the present site. When British Columbia was declared a colony in 1858, Fort Langley quickly became a starting point for miners heading towards the goldfields in the Interior, like Barkerville, Yale and Quesnel Forks. The fort remained in business until 1886, and from that time it became a prerequisite post producing agricultural products as well as cured salmon. In 1955, the British Columbia government declared the site as a National Historic Park and several buildings were reconstructed and in the 1990s, The Greater Vancouver Regional District and the government of the Township of Langley built a fort-to-fort trail linking the historic Park with the old site at Derby. Today, the village of Fort Langley caters to tourists mainly because of its antique shops, sidewalk cafes, 2 museums and many historic buildings. The town is also fast becoming as major commercial filming location for movies, commercials and TV shows partly due to its intriguing town hall that is colored yellow that has featured so many times during the filming developments.

FORT LANGLEY’S POPULATION: 2,865

NORTH VANCOUVER

NORTH VANCOUVER
Is a waterfront city and district municipality that occupies the lower slopes of the North Shores and across downtown Vancouver from Burrard Inlet via the Seabus and Lions Gate Bridge. North Vancouver City was developed in 1900 as a marketable location for commercial activity at the bottom of Lonsdale Avenue. On May 13th of 1907 with a population of about 2,000 people, North Vancouver became incorporated as a city and during the First World War (WWI), it quickly expanded to its present day size when it absorbed and merged the sawmill community of Moodyville, which is located just to the east of both of here and the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge. Shortly thereafter, a village, post office, and school were quickly situated and sprang up. In its early years, North Vancouver City’s main economic activities were ship-building and sawmilling. During the years of the depression, North Vancouver was forced to declared bankruptcy and managed by a commissioner until 1944. Since then the city has lost much as early day historical and industrial character and is considered mostly as a residential suburb of Vancouver and the waterfront has since been revitalized with the addition of the Lonsdale Quay (market, hotel, Translink city bus terminal, and small mini-mall) in 1986. There are 3 main exits that lead travelers to North Vancouver City from the Trans-Canada Highway/Upper Levels Highway; including Lonsdale Avenue Exit (Exit #18), Westview Road exit (Exit #17), and the Lynn Valley Road Exit (Exit #19). North Vancouver is named simply because of its geographical location north of Vancouver via Burrard Inlet and its main economic activities include tourism, light industry and retail services.

NORTH VANCOUVER’S POPULATION: 45,165 (CITY)
NORTH VANCOUVER'S POPULATION: 82,562 (DISTRICT)

DEROCHE

DEROCHE
Is a tiny settlement located on the northern side of the Fraser River, just 19 kilometers east of Mission in the Upper Fraser Valley. Named after Joseph Deroche (1824—1922) a truck driver, who helped haul supplies during the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s, Deroche was first known originally as Derocier. Deroche is also located adjacent to the eastern end of Nicomen Island and at the foot of Nicomen Mountain, which is located immediately across the Fraser River from Chilliwack Mountain. Nearby Nicomen Slough, is home to a winter gathering area for eagles, trumpeter swans, ducks and other waterfowl. In the community, there is a small store, and garage to serve travelers, as well as an elementary school.

DEROCHE’S POPULATION: 72

GROUNDBIRCH

GROUNDBIRCH
Is a small agriculture community that lays on the John Hart Highway (Highway #97) and the now-defunct British Columbia Rail line (BC Rail), 45 kilometers west of Dawson Creek in the Peace River region of British Columbia. Groundbirch only has a general store and a RV Park, but no longer has a wheat elevator to serve local farmers. Groundbirch was first settled in the early 1920s by Ivor Benterud and Ole Martinsen and was formerly known as Stewart Flats.

GROUNDBIRCH’S POPULATION:673

MISSION

MISSION
Is a large district municipality, located on the north side of the Fraser River and on the Lougheed Highway (Highway #7) about 70 kilometers east of Vancouver. Named after St. Mary’s Mission, once the largest and first mission in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1862 on the banks of Fraser River by oblate missionary Leon Fouquet. Operated from 1863 to 1984, the mission was the first school for aboriginals, and it had everything from a gristmill for local farmers and even had its own church. The mission was moved in 1885 further north uphill to make way for the Canadian Pacific Railway to lay and construct tracks. The building and constructing of the new site of the mission was a difficult chore that took over 2 years to complete, however it was eventually finally built in 1885. The remains, of the site, including its cement foundations are still seen today and or on display at the Fraser River Heritage Park, northeast of downtown, but most of the exterior of the building was razed and demolished in 1965 due to years of deterioration. It was 4 years prior students of the mission were moved next-door to a residential school when it became a federally-mandated residential school, where it continued to operate until 1984 making it one of the last residential schools to close in British Columbia. Nestled between the Coast Mountains in the north and the Fraser River in the south, Mission was also chosen as a site in 1954 by Benedictine monks for their new Monastic Retreat Center, the Westminster Abbey seminary of Christ the King, which is a remarkable church with a tower of 10 bells, and 64 stained-glass windows, the Abbey is located on a hillside above town and provides people who seek solitude, prayer and comfort. Once inhabited by the Sto:lo First Nations, Mission was an important stopping place and junction point for trappers, loggers and settlers where it remains to this very day. Economies in Mission which is known for its fertile soil and mild and pleasant climate year-round include dairy farming, agriculture, as well as logging. Many residents work in Vancouver as well as the surround area do so by commuting and using the West Coast Express, a public transit train which takes approximately 45 minutes to Vancouver. Mission was incorporated as a district on November 1969, after being previously and municipally known as a town, village and was even an original district in its early days and due to its massive increase in population and that many residential complexes are being developed over the past few decades, it has been rumored in the future that Mission will eventually be known officially as a city. Highway #11 is a highway that connects Mission and the Lougheed Highway and travels south via the Mission Bridge, 12 kilometers to Abbotsford and 5 more kilometers south towards the Canada/United States border crossing at the tiny Washington State hamlet of Sumas. The district is served by 2 main communities, Mission City (where most of the downtown is located in, as well as a historic post office that dates back to 1935), and Hatzic in addition to 4 smaller neighborhoods, Steelhead, Ruskin, Stave Falls and Silverdale. Mission is a proud sister city to that of Oyama, a town of about 20,000 residents, located in Shizuoka, a prefecture in Japan.


MISSION’S POPULATION: 30,519

BLAKEBURN

BLAKEBURN
Is ghost town, perched on Granite Creek, just north of Princeton. Blakeburn was a mining town that was established in 1911, by owners W.J. Blake Wilson and Pat Burns, who was a former Canadian senator and meat-packer for the P. Burns & Company Limited, a meat company. The mine was famous for its aerial tramway that carried coal to the railhead at the nearby community of Coalmont. The mine also had turbulent times particularly in August of 1930 when an explosion in the mine killed 45 men and is known as British Columbia’s worst mining disasters, a plaque in Coalmont tells this story. The mine closed in 1940 due to fluctuating and dwindling production and because many residents decided to move away to other mining communities near and far. In order to get into Blakeburn, travel along a Forest Service Road from Granite City, which is another ghost town in its own right, and you’ll find several buildings in ruins, including an old bathhouse, washhouse, school and even the old terminal that housed the tramway line, which is basically an old and large block of concrete that is still standing as of today.

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS
Is a small community, located in the Columbia Valley, 139 kilometers south of Golden along Highway #95 between the Columbia and Windermere Lakes. The community and its hot springs were first used by various First Nations groups, long before a settler by the name of George Geary became the first European to settle in the area in 1887. When Sam Brewer bought the place a few years later, Fairmont Hot Springs quickly became a rest spot for the stage coaches that transported people up and down the Columbia Valley. Tourist and other different varieties of traveler facilities were set up at the springs in 1909, 5 years before the First World War (WWI) started. Fairmont Hot Springs is not only known for its famous hot springs, but is known as a retirement and vacationer community because of its three golf courses used mainly for people from various nearby cities like Revelstoke, Cranbrook as well as major Alberta city of Calgary who want to take a nice relaxing vacation from the pressures of living in a city environment. The community is also home to a small airport facility that offers private and public jets including Boeing 737s. Fairmont Hot Springs has plans to develop condominiums, many residential subdivisions, and an Alpine Ski Village for a nearby ski hill in time before the end of 2009 as well as renovate and expand the nearby ski hill. Fairmont Hot Springs is unincorporated despite its notoriety as a tourism community and is named after a log house hotel located within a half mile from the hot springs’ source, that was built in the late 1920s.

FAIRMONT HOT SPRINGS’ POPULATION: 489

TELKWA

TELKWA

Is a small district municipality, located where the Telkwa and Bulkley Rivers meet, 15 kilometers south of Smithers on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #16). Telkwa was once a thriving town very rich in coalmine deposits, and even though these have since closed, there have been some rambling that they maybe opened in the future. The history of Telkwa dates back to the 1860s, when the Collins Overland Telegraph line was constructed to further north. Until World War 1 (WWI), Telkwa was the main commercial center for the entire the Bulkley Valley, which is when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was constructed which in turn, shifted growth and expansion north to Smithers. Telkwa has several historical sites including St. Stephen’s Anglican Church which was built in 1910 from wood donated from Telkwa’s first sawmill, and its bell tower and lich gate were added in 1921. The lich gate is significant because a coffin is placed there commemorating the first-ever burial service in the church’s history. Telkwa is an outdoor enthusiasts haven as there several parks in the vicinity of the town; Tyhee Provincial Park, just 5 minutes northeast of town, this scenic park offers swimming and hiking opportunities during the summer months and ice fishing on the lake and cross-country skiing during the cold, winter months. Another great thing about Telkwa is that there is a demolition derby and barbeque that happens here every Labor Day Weekend in Telkwa well as Winterfest, a winter celebration that is home to dogsled races, wagon rides, snow sculptures, cross-country skiing, candlelight skiing, and much more winter fun. Telkwa is known to be British Columbia’s smallest municipality and its name comes derives from a Carrier First Nations word meaning “where the rivers meet”.

TELKWA’S POPULATION: 1,295

SMITHERS

SMITHERS
Is a town, located on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway #16), about halfway between Prince George and Prince Rupert in the Bulkley Valley. Before Smithers was even lively as a community, it was home to the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, who were the original first settlers. Smithers was built as a Grand Trunk Pacific station (later the Canadian National Railway). In 1913, it was later made into a railway’s division point and is named after a former chairman of the Railway as well as London banker; Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers (1850-1924). Today, the community of Smithers relies on tourism, logging, dairy farming, agriculture and mining as its economic activities. Smithers is center among four different mountain ranges; The Skeena, Bulkley, Telkwa, and the Rocher Deboule. Hudson’s Bay Mountain (2,621 meters), which dramatically looms right over the town to the west, is a prime and popular destination for tourists and for people who love the outdoors, as a skiing and hiking area. In 1967, Smithers was officially incorporated as a town. Every June, The community is also home to large music festival that has attracted musicians from all over the music industry including acts such as Spirit of the West and the Bare-naked Ladies.

SMITHERS' POPULATION: 5,217

DOG CREEK

DOG CREEK
Is a small back road community, east of the Fraser River about 80 kilometers south of Williams Lake and just east of the Gang Ranch in the Cariboo Chilcotin. A Shuswap (Secwepemc) village used to run here, although other First Nations people continue to live here in nearby Canoe Creek (Sexqeltqin). The earliest white settlers arrived in the Dog Creek Valley arrived around the 1850’s and Dog Creek soon grew as a result. Dog Creek House, a hotel founded J.S. Place, A Dog Creek pioneer and many members of the Place family, burned in 1966.

DOG CREEK’S POPULATION: 157

TOPLEY

TOPLEY

Is a tiny and unincorporated junction community, 51 kilometers west of Burns Lake in northwestern British Columbia in the Bulkley Valley. The community is named after an early first settler by the name of William J. Topley. It is here that a highway (Highway #118) leads 50 kilometers to the former copper mining community of Granisle; now a retirement community, as well as an outdoor recreation center for 177 kilometer-long Babine Lake, a popular lake with fisherman especially with salmon, kokanee, char, and trout. Topley today has a store, gas station and small elementary school but is unincorporated.

TOPLEY'S POPULATION: 118

ANAHAM

ANAHAM
Is a First Nations (Tl’etinqox) reserve and ranching settlement, 98 kilometers west of Williams Lake and 14 kilometers east of Alexis Creek on Highway #20, in the Chilcotin area of British Columbia. It is a Tsilhqot’in band community with a store, small gas station, as well as a few ranches near the surrounding area. It was formed in the mid 1800s during the fur trading days, when people living in the timber and lakes environment decided to move to the grassy, flat meadows of the eastern limits of the Chilcotin. Anaham is not far from both the Ts’il?os, and Nazko Lakes Provincial Parks, which are within a combined total of 30 kilometers within each other (known as its English term as Mount Tatlow, Ts’il?os is pronounced sigh-loss and the “?’’ in the word represents a glottal stop). Anaham is considered one of the Chilcotin’s largest First Nations reserves and is named after an Anaham band leader in the 1860s and is not to be confused with Anahim Lake, which is 218 kilometers, about a good 2 hours drive, west of here. This community is sometimes referred to as Anaham’s Flat and the word Tl’etinqox means “the river flats” in the Chilcotin language referring to nearby Anaham Creek.  

ANAHAM'S POPULATION: 1,445

KLEENA KLEENE

KLEENA KLEENE
Is a tiny First Nations settlement and recreationasl community in the Chilcotin region of British Columbia along Highway #20 and where the Klinaklini River flows into Knight Inlet. Pat McClinchy, Frank Render and Sam Colwell were the first settlers to arrive in the early-1900s, while James MacKill opened a resort at One Eye Lake, southwest of here. In recent years, Kleena Kleene has become a departure point for float plane transportation into the nearby artea's remote lakes and rivers including Nimpo Lake which prides itself at being the "Floatplane Capital of Canada". Kleena Kleena is a base for sightseeing wirth nearby lakes rivers, and mountains to explore and view, especially with Mount Waddington, British Columbia third highest mountain as the province's largest provincial park in Tweedsmuir. Kleena Kleene’s main economic activity is based entirely on ranching and means “eulachon grease” in Kwakwala language. Several books from the area tell the story of the history of the community and its ranching heritage including the history of several ranches including that of Dane and Clearwater Lake Ranches. The area of where Kleena Kleene is located is where the Klinaklini River, the Homathko River as well as the Chilcotin River share the same stretch of Chilcotin Plateau.

KLEENA KLEENE’S POPULATION: 93

JADE CITY

JADE CITY

Is a small tourist attraction spot on the road and a tiny first nations reserve located on the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (Highway #37), near the turnoff to the abandoned and ghost town of Cassiar, 115 kilometers north of Dease Lake. Jade City is made up of two seasonal jade stores that straddled along the Stewart-Cassiar Highway that are only open during the peak summer months, when tourism season kicks in. The stores offer jade mined through the Cassiar Mountains, as well as asbestos, and gold. Jade City is a haven for campers and wilderness lovers alike, with several mountains, lakes and park to explore. Jade City has some highway services and is named after the large outcrops of jade that are mined throughout the Cassiar Mountains.

JADE CITY’S POPULATION: 12

ANYOX

ANYOX

Is a ghost town and pretty much largely abandoned and in ruins located just southeast of Stewart on the shores of Observatory Inlet in the remote confines of Northwest British Columbia. Kind of like other British Columbia ghost towns like Phoenix and Cassiar, Anyox was a small company-owned mining town that was completely reiled on mining of copper and other minerals. In the early 1900s, Anyox grew to a population of about 3,000 residents as rich deposits of copper and other valuable metals were found and mined at the nearby mountains. The mine was owned by the Granby Company which operated the copper mines in Granisle as well as both the mines in Grand Forks and Phoenix. However, Anyox’s heyday was short-lived as forest fires in 1923 almost completely wiped out the entire community, but the town was soon rebuilt and work at the mine until the early-1930s, when the mines were played out and the workers left and in 1935 the min was completely shut down and Anyox became a ghost town in the process. Some old buildings from the community’s early days still exist, but are in very poor and reduced condition. In the 1940s operations were taken place to remove some of the steel and machinery from the town’s mine and a forest fire a second time, shortly thereafter, destroyed most of the remaining buildings. Anyox is from a Tsimshian word for “hidden water” where Anyox Creek flows into nearby Granby Bay where the mine was located nearby.

PORT MOODY

PORT MOODY

Is a city located on the northwest end of Burrard Inlet 15 kilometers east of downtown Vancouver. It is named after Richard Moody, a commander of the Royal Engineers, who coincidentally cut a trail from New Westminster in 1859 to the head of the inlet as a safeguard against a violent assault from the south. In 1879, Port Moody was announced as the Canadian Pacific Railway’s (CPR) western terminus of the new Trans-Continental Rail line, which in 1886 the first passenger train in British Columbia’s history arrived in 1886. Since the railways decision to put the end of track down the inlet to Vancouver, Port Moody has grown less than anticipated, but since World War 2 (WWII), it has grown into a residential suburb of Vancouver. Port Moody was incorporated as a city in March of 1913 and its main industries include that of the Oil and Gas Industry (at the neighbourhood of IOCO), sawmilling, chemical plants, wine-making, and an active waterfront that handles deep-sea bulk carriers. The West Coast Express train uses the existing Canadian Pacific Railway line to connect it to Vancouver, and bringing the residents of Port Moody that work in Vancouver, a 30 minute trip to work every day. Port Moody is bordered on the west by Burnaby, the east by Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam, the south by the Fraser River, and on the north by North Vancouver as well as the unincorporated towns of Anmore and Belcarra. Port Moody is the smallest of the 3 cities that make up the Tri-Cities area known as the Tri-Cities (cities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam).

PORT MOODY’S POPULATION: 27,512

MICA CREEK

MICA CREEK

Is a small community located on the northern side of Highway #23 and at the confluence of Mica Creek and the mighty Columbia River, 148 kilometers north of Revelstoke. Mica Creek’s (earlier known as Mica) originality came from the days of the Big Bend Gold Rush of the 1860s when it was an important boomtown for gold miners to either Fort Kamloops or east towards Alberta. Present-day Mica Creek was founded and used as a base of operations for BC Hydro’s construction for a hydroelectric power project at nearby Mica Dam in the 1960s and 1970s. After it was constructed in 1973, Mica Creek peaked to a population of about 4,000 people and had a swimming pool, ski lodge, church, banks, grocery store, high school, fire hall, police station, and post office. During the early 1980s, the population suddenly reduced most of the buildings that housed these important amenities were either bulldozed or shut down but most are still maintained in order provide accommodation for tourists who want to heli-ski or camp in the area. Mica Creek was moved to its existing location 500 meters from Columbia River to accommodate flooding which created Mica Dam’s reservoir; Revelstoke Dam. In 2005, the townsite became unincorporated after briefly being a village since it was born and is named after flakes of mica minerals that are found floating in the creek’s waters.

MICA CREEK’S POPULATION: 34