Vancouver

History

The Coast Salish, a First Nations people, lived in what is now known as Greater Vancouver for more than 5,000 years. In the latter part of the 1700s, their main settlements were in Stanley Park, along the shores of the Burrard Inlet, along the Fraser River to the south, and at Larcarno Beach. In 1820, there were 25,000 Salish living on the banks of the Fraser River. The Salish had a highly developed culture and were known for their carpentry skill and canoe-making ability.

The first European to arrive in the area was José Maria Narváez, who sailed into the Burrard Inlet in 1791. However, in 1792 Capt. George Vancouver, in search of a northwest passage to Asia, stepped ashore and claimed the land for Britain. Although he only spent one day on the site, the city was later named after Capt. Vancouver.

A fur trader named Simon Fraser (1776–1862) was the first explorer to make it to Vancouver by an inland route. In 1808, Fraser navigated the treacherous Fraser River, which spills into the Pacific Ocean at Vancouver.

The first settlement in the area was 48 kilometers (30 miles) east of Vancouver. Fort Langley, as it is still known today, was an outpost for the Hudson's Bay Company, a fur trading company whose original charter from the English Crown stated they were to control all land whose rivers and streams drained into Hudson's Bay.

The next wave of settlers arrived with the gold rush of 1858 when gold deposits were found in the sandy banks of the Fraser River east of Vancouver. Dreams of riches brought 300,000 prospectors to the area in search of wealth.

In 1862 the first sawmill in the area was established at a site then called Moodyville. Three years later, the Hastings Mill was built in Chinatown to process the abundant fir, spruce, and cedar trees that filled the surrounding landscape.

John Deighton, nicknamed "Gassy Jack" for his talkative nature, built a saloon near Hastings Mill. The community that grew around the saloon became known as Gastown. It was incorporated as the town of Granville in 1869, named after the British Duke of Granville, and today is one of Vancouver's oldest neighborhoods.

In 1886, the town of Granville became the city of Vancouver. The name was suggested by William Van Horne, vice president of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), in honor of the English explorer Capt. George Vancouver, who charted Burrard Inlet and adjacent waters in 1792. That Van Horne was able to name the new city illustrates the power the railway enjoyed during Vancouver's formative years. The Vancouver Incorporation Act made Vancouver unique among British Columbia's cities as it was granted its own charter rather than being governed by the Municipal Act.

The second momentous occasion for the new city occurred in 1886 when a forest fire swept through the city and burned it to the ground. It was during this year that the city leased 405 hectares (1,000 acres) of land from the federal government for Stanley Park, Vancouver's most famous landmark.

One year later, the Canadian Pacific Railway made its way to the city, making Vancouver the last stop on Canada's transcontinental railway. Its arrival was to have a dramatic affect. Still a small town with a modest 12,000 residents in 1886, Vancouver's population boomed to over 120,000 by 1911.

At the turn of the twentieth century, the city's focus began to shift from Gastown to the rail yards at the foot of Granville Street. Stone banks and department stores soon sprang up in the area to serve residents, many of whom still relied on forestry and fishing for their livelihood.

The 1930s were a difficult period for Vancouver. Between 1932 and 1933, 15 percent of the population was living on relief or unemployment benefits. Cargo shipped from the port had been reduced by 30 percent from levels experienced in the roaring twenties. Just two years later, the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. Fortunately, the worst of the depression was over, and Vancouver soon experienced an upturn in its economy.

Vancouver's population grew rapidly after the end of World War II (1939–45). By 1951, the city was home to 345,000 residents. Cargo shipments from the port finally surpassed the highs experienced in the 1920s, and Vancouver began a period of rapid economic growth.