| City of Williams Lake | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Nickname(s): BC's Stampede Capital | |
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City of Williams Lake
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | Cariboo |
| Regional district | Cariboo Regional District |
| Incorporated | 1929 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Williams Lake City Council |
| • Mayor | Kerry Cook |
| • City Manager | Brian Carruthers |
| Area | |
| • Total | 33.03 km2 (12.8 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 600 m (1,969 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 11,150 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC-8) |
| Highways | 20 97 |
Williams Lake, is a city in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the central part of a region known as the Cariboo, it is the largest urban centre between Kamloops and Prince George, with a population of 11,150 in city limits.[1]
Williams Lake hosts the annual Williams Lake Stampede, which takes place over the Canada Day long weekend. It is also the home town of Rick Hansen, the Canadian paraplegic athlete and activist for people with spinal cord injuries, who became famous during his fundraising Man in Motion world tour. It is also the home of the Montreal Canadiens starting goalie Carey Price.
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Williams Lake is named in honour of Secwepemc chief William, whose counsel prevented the Shuswap from joining the Chilcotin in their uprising against the settler population.[2]
The story of Williams Lake began in 1860 during the Cariboo Gold Rush when Gold Commissioner Philip Henry Nind and Constable William Pinchbeck arrived from Victoria to organize a local government and maintain law and order.
At the time, two pack trails led to the goldfields, one from the Douglas Road and another trail through the Fraser Canyon. Both met at Williams Lake, which made it a good choice for settlers and merchants. By 1861, Commissioner Nind had built a government house and had requested the funds to build a jail. With the center of local government being at Williams Lake, the miners and businessmen all had to travel there to conduct their business and soon the town had a post office, a courthouse, a roadhouse and the jail that Nind had requested. Meanwhile, William Pinchbeck had not been idle and had built his own roadhouse, saloon and store. Eventually he would own most of the valley.[3]
In 1863, the town was excited by the news of the construction of Cariboo Road, believing it would pass through their already established and important trading center. However, the roadbuilder Gustavus Blin Wright rerouted the original trail so that it bypassed Williams Lake and went through 150 Mile House instead.[4]
The Williams Lake by-pass doomed the city and accusations flew that Gustavus Blin Wright had changed the route for his own personal benefit as he owned a roadhouse at Deep Creek along the new route. Regardless of Wright's motives, Williams Lake was forgotten and wouldn't be reborn until nearly half a century later with the construction of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, later BC Rail and now CN Rail.[5]
| Ethnic Origin[6] | Population | Percent of 18,760* | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | 5,865 | 31.26% | |
| Irish | 3,380 | 18.00% | |
| Manx | 10 | 0.001% | |
| Scottish | 4,520 | 24.10% | |
| Welsh | 475 | 2.53% | |
| misc. British Isles, n.i.e.** | 255 | 1.36% | |
| French | 2,330 | 12.42% | |
| Métis | 640 | 3.41% | |
| North American Indian | 2,735 | 14.58% | incl. First Nations, Native Americans and Alaska Natives |
| American | 485 | 2.59% | |
| Canadian | 4,850 | 25.85% | |
| Jamaican | 20 | 0.11% | |
| Brazilian | 10 | 0.005% | |
| Maya | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Mexican | 85 | 0.45% | |
| Austrian | 210 | 1.12% | |
| Belgian | 65 | 0.35% | |
| Dutch (Netherlands) | 1,120 | 5.97% | % not incl. Frisians or Flemish |
| Flemish | 15 | 0.08% | |
| German | 3,725 | 19.86% | |
| Swiss | 215 | 1.15% | |
| Finnish | 150 | 0.80% | |
| Danish | 230 | 1.23% | |
| Iceland | 90 | 0.48% | |
| Norwegian | 830 | 4.42% | |
| Swedish | 695 | 3.70% | |
| misc. Scandinavian, n.i.e.** | 85 | 0.45% | may include Sami and Kven |
| Lithuanian | 15 | 0.08% | |
| Czech | 125 | 0.67% | |
| Czechoslovakian | 40 | 0.21% | |
| Slovak | 25 | 0.13% | |
| Hungarian (Magyar) | 255 | 1.36% | |
| Polish | 590 | 3.14% | |
| Romanian | 110 | 0.59% | |
| Russian | 480 | 2.56% | |
| Ukrainian | 980 | 5.22% | |
| Croatian | 20 | 0.11% | |
| Greek | 45 | 0.24% | |
| Italian | 465 | 2.48% | |
| Portuguese | 35 | 0.19% | |
| Spanish | 115 | 0.61% | |
| Yugoslav, n.i.e.** | 70 | 0.37% | |
| Basque | 20 | 0.11% | |
| Gypsy (Roma) | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Jewish | 65 | 0.35% | |
| misc. European, n.i.e.** | 35 | 0.19% | |
| Black | 30 | 0.16% | |
| Ghanaian | 10 | 0.05% | |
| South African | 50 | 0.27% | |
| misc. African, n.i.e.** | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Maghrebi origins | 15 | 0.08% | |
| misc. Arab, n.i.e. | 10 | 0.05% | |
| East Indian | 625 | 3.33% | |
| Gujarati | 20 | 0.11% | |
| Punjabi | 105 | 0.56% | |
| Sri Lankan | 10 | 0.05% | |
| misc. South Asian, n.i.e.** | 25 | 0.13% | |
| Chinese | 150 | 0.80% | |
| Filipino | 25 | 0.13% | |
| Indonesian | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Japanese | 75 | 0.08% | |
| Korean | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Malaysian | 50 | 0.26% | |
| Australian | 35 | 0.19% | |
| New Zealander | 15 | 0.08% | |
| *Percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses e.g. German-East Indian, Norwegian-Irish-Polish. | |||
| **Not included elsewhere. | |||
| ***Not otherwise specified. |
The primary industries in Williams Lake are forestry, logging, milling, mining and ranching.
| Climate data for Williams Lake | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 16 (61) |
16 (61) |
22.5 (72.5) |
29 (84) |
38 (100) |
36.5 (97.7) |
38.5 (101.3) |
37.5 (99.5) |
39 (102) |
20 (68) |
18 (64) |
13 (55) |
39 (102) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −2.2 (28.0) |
2.7 (36.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
14.8 (58.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
23 (73) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.9 (78.6) |
20.8 (69.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
12.9 (55.2) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −10.2 (13.6) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
4.3 (39.7) |
8.1 (46.6) |
10 (50) |
9.1 (48.4) |
5.3 (41.5) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−9.8 (14.4) |
0.2 (32.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −38.5 (−37.3) |
−33 (−27) |
−26 (−15) |
−9 (16) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
2 (36) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−7 (19) |
−25 (−13) |
−37 (−35) |
−41 (−42) |
−41 (−42) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 32.1 (1.264) |
13.2 (0.52) |
15.1 (0.594) |
21.3 (0.839) |
35.2 (1.386) |
57.9 (2.28) |
59.6 (2.346) |
47.5 (1.87) |
37.5 (1.476) |
35.6 (1.402) |
37.2 (1.465) |
35.8 (1.409) |
427.8 (16.843) |
| Source: Environment Canada[7] | |||||||||||||
Williams Lake is served by Cariboo-Chilcotin School District 27
Thompson Rivers University has a campus in Williams Lake and offers a wide variety of programs and courses including university transfers, certificate and diploma programs, health and safety certification, trades and technology, and university and career preparation. The Elder College is another local division of Thompson Rivers University, and offers programs and opportunities for people who are 50+ and are interested in participating in the programs, courses and special events.
Williams Lake is located on the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 20.
Greyhound Bus Lines provides bus service south to Vancouver and Kamloops, north to Prince George.
CN Rail offers freight service north and south of Williams Lake.
The Williams Lake Airport is located 14 kilometers north of the city and was opened in 1956 by Transport Canada and on January 1, 1997 the ownership of the airport was transferred to the City of Williams Lake. The airport is served by both Pacific Coastal Airlines, and Central Mountain Air with daily flights to Vancouver
Local public transportation consists of the BC Transit and Handy Dart bus service.
Held annually, on the Canada Day long weekend, the Williams Lake Stampede features Canadian Professional Rodeo Association action including bull riding, barrel racing, bareback riding, tie-down roping, steer wrestling, team roping and chuckwagon races. The Williams Lake Stampede plays host to many top cowboys and international rodeo competitors from Canada and the United States most of which continue on the circuit to the Calgary Stampede, the following weekend.
The Stampede festivities also include a parade of floats from local orginaizations, such as 4H groups, native bands, community service groups, the stampede royalty and local merchants. There is also a carnival with rides and games located near the stampede grounds.
Scout Island, located on the west end of Williams Lake off South Mackenzie Avenue, is a nature sanctuary and park area comprising two islands connected to the mainland by a vehicle causeway. In addition to a beach area, picnic ground and boat launch, Scout Island contains a series of nature trails that take visitors through a relatively undisturbed natural environment, rich in bird and small wildlife habitat.
A key feature of Scout Island is the Nature House which strategically overlooks the extensive marsh adjacent to the island. The Nature Centre is operated by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists which is lead by Jenny Noble and offers displays, programs and information interpreting the diverse and sensitive environment of Scout Island. They have recently created a Facebook page that outlines their activities.
The Nature Trust of British Columbia is the owner of this 9.69 hectares which was purchased in 1973 - 1988 and is leased to the City of Williams Lake.[8]
Launched in July 2011 by Rick Roy from KVPN.CA.
The on demand grass roots community programming web tv streaming channel is available online and additionally can be viewed via HDMI on a flat screen TV.
There was a LORAN-C Station at Wiliams Lake.
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