| The history of the
Smithers, B.C. region started long before the European pioneers
arrived in the Bulkley Valley to set up house. When the valley
was the Wastsonquah River Valley, it was home to the
Wet'suwet'en First Nation
people. It was not until the 1860s when the Europeans arrived
as fur traders passing through the territory.
The First Nation Village of Kyah Wiget (Today,
referred to as Moricetown)
was the main camp for the Wet'suwet'en people.
Many great hunts and winter seasons were spent in this
village. Kyah Wiget and Telkwa Village were two of the main villages
along the hunting and fishing migratory routes the Wet'suwet'en
First Nations followed every year.
The region consisted of many First Nation clans,
each with its own Chief and Elders. The Laksilyu small-frog clan,
the Gilseyhu big-frog clan, the Gitdumden bear & wolf clan,
the Tsayu beaver clan and the Laksamashu fireweed clan - together
were the Wet'suwet'en First Nation people. The five clans were
scattered among 13 houses.
A missionary by the name of Adrian Morice arrived
in 1862. Educated, he translated prayer books into the Wet'suwet'en's
native tongue. 1866 saw a failed attempt at connecting North America
to Asia by telegraph line. The trail left behind from the failed
attempt was resurrected in 1896 when the government extended the
line into the Yukon creating the Dominion Telegraph line.
First European settler was Gabriel Lacroix on the
east shore of the Bulkley River in 1900 and then came Fred Heal
in 1903 on the north end of Tyhee Lake. Soon later a townsite
was formed in 1904 near the lake called Aldermere followed by
Telkwa Village on the
river three years later. This was to be the main community of
the area until a fire destroyed it in 1914.
The fire sent people to live and operate their
businesses in the community of, nearby, Smithers and when it came
to recreate Telkwa, many decided to stay in Smithers. With the
addition of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway and claims of mineral
deposits found in the area, Smithers was booming. In 1913 the
community was recognized as a village and 1921 Smithers was the
first village incorporated in the province of British Columbia,
Canada.
The town of Smithers was named after the chairman
of the board for the Grand Trunk Railway, Sir Alfred Waldron Smithers.
Then in 1967, it was official - Smithers, B.C. became a town.
Wahooo!
|
History
Smithers
