Did you know how close we came to being named Mackenzie? In 1793, Alexander MacKenzie was canoeing down the Fraser River on his historic trip, and actually missed the join of the Nechako River where it enters the Fraser. It was over a decade later when Simon Fraser passed through this very important river junction in 1807 that this area became settled. He decided to build a tiny outpost here and named it Fort George after King George lll. After spending the winter here, he continued his journey down the mighty river which now bears his name.

Fort George remained a small trading post for nearly 100 years until the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway's route to the west coast passed through it. After that, the settlement grew rapidly and in 1915, Prince George was officially incorporated. Unfortunately, the steady growth did not survive World War l and for 20 years the town remained dormant.

However, Prince George was located in a geographocally central position and slowly began to recover. The John Hart Highway in 1952 opened a route to the Yukon. The Pacific Great Eastern (now B.C. Rail) extended its line up through Prince George to reach Fort Nelson. Also, the forest industry was undergoing major growth. Portable sawmills appeared throughout the surrounding forests producing rough-cut white spruce for lumber. This process left waste, which was eventually made into pulp. The arrival of the pulp mills in the 1960's changed the economy and the city forever. Prince George Pulp and Paper, Northwood Pulp and Timber and Intercontinental Pulp helped the city's population grow from 14,000 to 50,000 people in a very short time.

Prince George has continued to grow and prosper, partly by its superb geographic location and partly by the sheer abundance of natural renewable resources. It presently is one of the 5 largest cities in B.C. and is certainly the most important regional centre for the north.