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Dawson Creek
KNOWLEDGE OF Dawson Creek
Dawson Creek was one of the farming communities established by European-Canadian settlers moving west through the Peace River Country. The pace of migration increased after the homestead grants were given to settlers in 1912 by the Canadian government. With the opening of a few stores and hotels in 1919, Dawson Creek became the most important settlement in the area. The incorporation of the Dawson Creek Co-operative Union on 28 May 1921 bolstered the settlement's role as the area's main business centre.
After much speculation by land owners and investors, the Northern Alberta Railways built its terminus 3 km (2 miles) from the village. The golden spike was driven on 29 December 1930, and the first passenger train arrived on 15 January 1931. The arrival of the railway and the construction of many grain elevators attracted more settlers and helped Dawson Creek become incorporated as a village in 1936. In 1939, as World War II was beginning, refugees from the Sudetenland arrived in the region and settled on land bought from the Canadian Pacific Railway and held in trust by the Canadian Colonization Association. This helped the village's population surpass 500 people in 1941, but by 1943 the population was in the thousands. The community rapidly developed in 1942, as thousands of American army troops, engineers and contractors poured into the city, which had become the terminal of rail transport, to construct the Alaska Highway.
In 1951, with the completion of the highway's construction and the workers long-since gone, the village's population was approximately 3,500 people. Dawson Creek experienced tremendous growth during the 1950s, especially after the John Hart Highway and an associated rail line linked the town to the British Columbia Interior and the Lower Mainland. Western Canada's largest propane gas plant was built in this period, and federal government offices were established. The village obtained city status in 1958, and by 1961 the city's population had reached nearly 11,000 people.
Growth slowed in the 1960s, and the city reached a peak population of 12,392 in 1966. In the 1970s, the provincial government established offices, Northern Lights College opened a Dawson Creek campus, and the Dawson Creek Mall was constructed. Several modern grain elevators were built, and the town's five wooden grain elevators, nicknamed "Elevator Row", were dismantled. Only one of the historic elevators remain today, converted to an art gallery. Since the 1970s, the town's population and economy have not significantly increased. This is primarily attributable to the nearby town of Fort St. John becoming a centre for industrial development and Grande Prairie becoming the same in the commercial sector.
Since 1991, the city has undergone three boundary expansions. The first, in the southeast corner of town, incorporated undeveloped land on the basis of a planned veneer factory by Louisiana-Pacific Canada. However, the company abandoned its plans after the city extended services to the location, with the factory only half-built. The second expansion incorporated an existing Louisiana-Pacific Canada oriented strand board factory in the northwest corner of town, while the third incorporated undeveloped land south of the airport for future commercial or industrial development.
After much speculation by land owners and investors, the Northern Alberta Railways built its terminus 3 km (2 miles) from the village. The golden spike was driven on 29 December 1930, and the first passenger train arrived on 15 January 1931. The arrival of the railway and the construction of many grain elevators attracted more settlers and helped Dawson Creek become incorporated as a village in 1936. In 1939, as World War II was beginning, refugees from the Sudetenland arrived in the region and settled on land bought from the Canadian Pacific Railway and held in trust by the Canadian Colonization Association. This helped the village's population surpass 500 people in 1941, but by 1943 the population was in the thousands. The community rapidly developed in 1942, as thousands of American army troops, engineers and contractors poured into the city, which had become the terminal of rail transport, to construct the Alaska Highway.
In 1951, with the completion of the highway's construction and the workers long-since gone, the village's population was approximately 3,500 people. Dawson Creek experienced tremendous growth during the 1950s, especially after the John Hart Highway and an associated rail line linked the town to the British Columbia Interior and the Lower Mainland. Western Canada's largest propane gas plant was built in this period, and federal government offices were established. The village obtained city status in 1958, and by 1961 the city's population had reached nearly 11,000 people.
Growth slowed in the 1960s, and the city reached a peak population of 12,392 in 1966. In the 1970s, the provincial government established offices, Northern Lights College opened a Dawson Creek campus, and the Dawson Creek Mall was constructed. Several modern grain elevators were built, and the town's five wooden grain elevators, nicknamed "Elevator Row", were dismantled. Only one of the historic elevators remain today, converted to an art gallery. Since the 1970s, the town's population and economy have not significantly increased. This is primarily attributable to the nearby town of Fort St. John becoming a centre for industrial development and Grande Prairie becoming the same in the commercial sector.
Since 1991, the city has undergone three boundary expansions. The first, in the southeast corner of town, incorporated undeveloped land on the basis of a planned veneer factory by Louisiana-Pacific Canada. However, the company abandoned its plans after the city extended services to the location, with the factory only half-built. The second expansion incorporated an existing Louisiana-Pacific Canada oriented strand board factory in the northwest corner of town, while the third incorporated undeveloped land south of the airport for future commercial or industrial development.
Chapi