Dawson Creek, British Columbia

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Dawson Creek, British Columbia
nickname = Mile 0 City
settlement_type =
motto =

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imagesize = 275px
image_caption = Looking south into downtown Dawson Creek, with the Mile "0" post.


flag_size = 150px
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image_blank_emblem = DawsonCreek logo.pngblank_emblem_size = 150px


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dot_mapsize =
dot_map_caption =Location of Dawson Creek within the Peace River Regional District in British Columbia
dot_x =118 |dot_y =67
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = CAN
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = flag|British Columbia
subdivision_type2 = Region
subdivision_name2 = Peace River
government_footnotes = [Cite web|url=http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/cityhall/citycouncil/|title=City Council|author=City of Dawson Creek|accessdate=2008-01-23]
government_type =
leader_title =Mayor
leader_name =Calvin Kruk
leader_title1 = Governing body
leader_name1 = City Council
leader_title2 =MP
leader_name2 =Jay Hill
leader_title3 =MLA
leader_name3 =Blair Lekstrom
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 1936-05-26 (village)
1958 (city)
established_title2 =
established_date2 =
area_magnitude =
unit_pref =
area_footnotes =
area_total_km2 = 20.66
area_land_km2 =
area_water_km2 =
area_total_sq_mi =
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population_as_of = 2007
population_footnotes =
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population_total = 11,811
population_density_km2 =
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population_density_blank1_km2 = |population_density_blank1_sq_mi =
timezone = MST
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST =
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coor_type = City Hall
latd= 55|latm= 45|lats= 38|latNS= N
longd= 120|longm= 14|longs= 08|longEW= W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 665
elevation_ft =
postal_code_type = Postal code FSA
postal_code = V1G
area_code = 250
blank_name =
blank_info =
website = [http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/ City of Dawson Creek]
footnotes =

The City of Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of km2 to mi2|20.66|precision=2|spell=UK had a population of 11,811 in 2007. [cite web |url= http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/dd/facsheet/cf262.pdf |title=Dawson Creek District Municipality |accessdate=2008-04-16 |date=2007-01-10 |work=Community Facts |publisher=BC Stats |format=pdf ] Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land survey team when they passed through the area in August 1879. Once a small farming community, Dawson Creek became a regional centre when the western terminus of the Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932. The community grew rapidly in 1942 as the US Army used the rail terminus as a transshipment point during construction of the Alaska Highway. In the 1950s, the city was connected to the interior of British Columbia via a highway and railway through the Rocky Mountains. Since the 1960s, growth has slowed.

Dawson Creek is located in the dry and windy prairie land of the Peace River Country. As the seat of the Peace River Regional District and a service centre for the rural areas south of the Peace River, the city has been called the "Capital of the Peace". It is also known as the "Mile 0 City", referring to its location at the southern end of the Alaska Highway. The community is home to a heritage interpretation village, an art gallery, and a museum. Annual events include a fall fair and a spring rodeo.

History

Dawson Creek is named after the watercourse of the same name, itself named after George Mercer Dawson who led a surveying team through the area in August 1879; a member of the team labelled the creek with Dawson's name. [cite news |title=First Traveler Through Dawson, 1879 |url=http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/5-007.html |work=The News, Progress Edition |date= 27 April 1979|accessdate=2008-04-16] The community that formed by the creek was one of many farming communities established by European-Canadian settlers moving west through the Peace River Country. When the Canadian government began issuing homestead grants to settlers in 1912, the pace of migration increased. With the opening of a few stores and hotels in 1919 and the incorporation of the Dawson Creek Co-operative Union on 28 May 1921, Dawson Creek became a dominant business centre in the area. [cite book |title=Dawson Creek: Past and Present, An Historical Sketch |last=Coutts |first=M. E. |year=1958 |publisher= Dawson Creek Historical Society |location= Edmonton, AB |pages= ] After much speculation by land owners and investors, the Northern Alberta Railways built its western terminus 3 km (2 mi) from Dawson Creek. [cite web |url=http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/5-008.html |last=Calverley |first=Dorthea |title= The Choice of Terminal for the N.A.R.|accessdate=2008-04-16 |year= 1983 |work=Calverley Collection] 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 grain elevators attracted more settlers and business to the settlement. The need to provide services for the rapidly growing community led Dawson Creek to incorporate as a village in May 1936. A small wave of refugees from the Sudetenland settled in the area in 1939 as World War II was beginning. [cite web |url= http://www.calverley.ca/Part08-Agriculture/8-20.html |last=Calverley |first=Dorthea |title= The Sudeten Settlement in the Peace River District|accessdate=2008-04-16 |work=Calverley Collection] The community exceeded 500 people in 1941. Upon entering the war, the United States decided to build a transportation corridor to connect the US mainland to Alaska. In 1942, thousands of US Army personnel, engineers, and contractors poured into the city – the terminal of rail transport – to construct the Alaska Highway.

The highway was completed in less than a year; even after the workers involved in its construction departed, population and economic growth continued. By 1951, Dawson Creek had more than 3,500 residents.cite web |url= http://www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca/data/pop/pop/mun/Mun2171.asp |title= British Columbia Municipal Census Populations, 1921-1971 |accessdate=2008-04-16 |publisher=BC Stats] In 1952, the John Hart Highway linked the town to the rest of the British Columbia Interior and Lower Mainland through the Rocky Mountains;cite web |url= http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/offices/dawson_e.htm|title= PFRA Dawson Creek District Office |accessdate=2008-04-17 |publisher=Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada] a new southbound route, known locally as Tupper Highway, made the town a crossroads with neighbouring Alberta. The next year, western Canada's largest propane gas plant was built [cite news |first=Gary |last=Rusak |title=Calendar of Peace Country Milestones |url= http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/5-003.html |work=Peace River Block News |date=1972-08-04 |accessdate=2008-04-16] and federal government offices were established in town. In 1958, the extension of the Pacific Great Eastern Railway to the Peace from Prince George was completed, and the village was re-incorporated as a city. Between 1951 and 1961, the population of Dawson Creek more than tripled.

Growth slowed in the 1960s, with the population reaching its all-time high in 1966. In the 1970s, the provincial government moved its regional offices from Pouce Coupe to the city, 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 taken out of service. Only one of the historic elevators remains, converted to an art gallery. Since the 1970s, with the nearby town of Fort St. John attracting much of the area's industrial development and Grande Prairie becoming a commercial hub, the town's population and economy have not significantly increased.

Since 1991, the city has undergone several boundary expansions. One expansion incorporated undeveloped land in the southeast for an industrial park and a Louisiana-Pacific Canada veneer factory. [cite news |title=Northland Industrial Park gets the go-ahead |work=Peace River Block News |date=1982-02-17] The city extended sewer and water lines to the location; however, the area was not developed and with the factory only half-built, L-P Canada abandoned its plans. A business making manufactured homes bought the factory and completed its development in 2005. [cite news |first=Gary |last=Rusak |title=Greensmart Continues Preparations in Dawson Creek |url= http://www.calverley.ca/Part12-Enterprises/BN12-73.htm |work=Peace River Block News |date=2005-09-02 |accessdate=2008-04-16] Another expansion incorporated the existing oriented strand board factory in the northwest corner of the city, while further incorporations have included undeveloped land to the south and north.

Demographics

The 1941 census, the first to include Dawson Creek as a defined subdivision, counted 518 residents. Its growth spurred by the construction of the Alaska Highway, the town recorded a sevenfold increase to 3,589 residents in the 1951 census. Within five years, the population doubled to 7,531. New transport links with southern British Columbia and Alberta spurred continued growth into the next decade. The population peaked in 1966 at 12,392, then declined throughout the 1970s, rising again briefly during the construction of the nearby town of Tumbler Ridge in the early 1980s. Dawson Creek's population has remained relatively stable since then. In the ten-year span from 1998 to 2007, the population was lowest in 2003 (11,144) and highest in 2007 (11,811), per provincial estimates.Dawson Creek has a large tourism industry as Mile "0" of the Alaska Highway. [Dawson Creek & District Chamber of Commerce, (2003). [http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/documents/southpeaceprofile.pdf A Socio-economic profile of the South Peace River Region, British Columbia, Canada,] p16.] Thousands of people drive on the highway every year, starting in Dawson Creek and ending in Fairbanks, Alaska. The trek is often made with recreational vehicles, sometimes in convoys which gather in the city. In the winter, the hospitality industry caters to workers from the oil patches. Discoveries south of Dawson CreekCity of Dawson Creek and Fisheries Renewal BC, [http://citywebpage.dawsoncreek.ca/cityhall/departments/water/documents/KiskatinawWMP2003.pdf Kiskatinaw River Watershed Plan,] May 2003, p28.] and higher energy prices have spurred oil and gas activities, which have in turn driven the nearby Fort St. John economy to spill over to the Dawson Creek economy. British Columbia's first wind farm is expected to be constructed several miles southwest of the city in 2008. [Hemmera (November 2006). [http://www.eao.gov.bc.ca/epic/output/documents/p268/d22641/1164839741308_e8b3a6c65b4e43fbbed2a537c4c663ac.pdf Application for an Environmental Assessment Certificate for Bear Mountain Wind Park] p275–293.]

Transportation and infrastructure

Dawson Creek's road network was laid out in the mid-20th century as the town rapidly expanded. The city maintains 88 km (55 mi) of paved and 11 km (7 mi) of unpaved roads.Reed Construction (2006), "Municipal redbook: an authoritative reference guide to local government in British Columbia", Burnaby, BC, 27. ISSN|0068-161X] The primary roads generally follow a grid pattern around large blocks of land. Because the grid contains many internal intersections with stops signs, traffic is forced onto two arterial roads: 8 Street going north–south and Alaska Avenue going southeast–northwest. These two roads meet at a traffic circle where a metal statue marks the beginning of the Alaska Highway. Officially designated British Columbia Highway 97, it runs north from Dawson Creek to Fort St. John and the Yukon – where it becomes Highway 1 – before reaching Alaska. The other highways emanating from Dawson Creek are the John Hart Highway, also 97 (southwest to Chetwynd and Prince George), Highway 2 (south to Grande Prairie and southern Alberta), and Highway 49 (east to Peace River and northern Alberta). A road with few intersections along the southern and western borders of the city, incorporating a stretch of Highway 2, is designated as a "dangerous goods route" for heavy trucks so that they can avoid traveling through the city. However, Highway 49 has no direct access to such a ring road, so many trucks bound to or from the east use the city arterials, slowing traffic and damaging roads.

Dawson Creek is a regional node for air, rail, and bus services. The Dawson Creek Airport, which services commercial flights by Central Mountain Air, was built in 1963; its 1,524 m (5,000 ft) runway was paved in 1966. There are larger airports in Fort St. John and Grande Prairie that maintain more comprehensive flight schedules. Passenger rail service was available in Dawson Creek between 1931 and 1974. Service began when the Northern Alberta Railways (NAR) built its northwest terminus in the town and was extended in 1958 to Vancouver with a rail line through the Rocky Mountains. Passenger rail service ended as commodity shipments of grains, oil and gas by-products, and forestry products became more important in the resource-based economy. Greyhound Lines maintains a bus station in Dawson Creek which connects the city to Vancouver, Edmonton (via Grande Prairie), and Whitehorse (via Fort Nelson).

The city draws its water supply from the Kiskatinaw River, 18 km (11 mi) west of town. Before reaching the city, the water is pumped through a settling pond, two storage ponds, and a treatment plant where it is flocculated, filtered, and chlorinated. The city also provides drinking water for Pouce Coupe and rural residents. Sewage is processed by a lagoon system east of town and released into the Pouce Coupe River. Dawson Creek is located in School District 59 Peace River South which maintains five elementary schools (Tremblay, Parkhill, Frank Ross, Crescent Park, and Canalta elementary schools), one middle school (Central Middle School), and one high school (South Peace Secondary School). Established in 1975, Northern Lights College's main campus is located in Dawson Creek and offers diplomas for two-year programs and degrees from the University of Northern British Columbia.

Culture, recreation, and media

The culture of Dawson Creek is centred around its designation as Mile "0" of the Alaska Highway. The Mile "0" post, depicted in the city flag, is located in the historic downtown area, one block south of the Northern Alberta Railways Park. This four-acre (1.6 ha), mostly paved park is the gathering point for travellers. The park includes the Dawson Creek Art Gallery, which exhibits work by local artists and craftsmen. The Station Museum, connected to the art gallery, displays artifacts and exhibits associated with the construction of the NAR railway and the Alaska Highway. Other parks in Dawson Creek include the Mile Zero Rotary Park and the Walter Wright Pioneer Village. Annual events in the city include the Dawson Creek Symphonette and Choir performance, the Dawson Creek Art Gallery auction, the Dawson Creek Spring Rodeo, and the Peace Country Blue Grass Festival. [ [http://www.tourismdawsoncreek.com/majorevents.php Major Events in Dawson Creek.] Tourism Dawson Creek. URL accessed on 17 November 2005.] The largest event, held annually since 1953, is the Dawson Creek Fall Fair & Exhibition — a five-day professional rodeo, with a parade, fairgrounds, and exhibitions. [Agricultural Fair, Rodeo & Exhibition. [http://www.dawsoncreekfair.com/ Dawson Creek Exhibition.] URL accessed on 17 November 2005.]

City recreation facilities include two ice hockey arenas, a curling rink, an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor ice rink, and a speed skating oval. The South Peace Community Multiplex, a new facility under construction on the outskirts of the city, will replace the swimming pool. [ [http://www.southpeacemultiplex.com/ South Peace Multiplex.] City of Dawson Creek. URL accessed on 17 November 2005.] Voters approved building the Multiplex in a 2004 referendum which projected its cost at C$21.6 million. [ [http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/302n.asp?newsid=1154 $21.6 Million Multiplex to be Built in Dawson Creek,] CivicInfo BC News, 16 April 2004.] The project became controversial when construction began and the cost projection was raised to $35 million. [Gary Rusak, [http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/BN05-100.htm Infrastructure Money to go to Multiplex,] Peace River Block News, 4 April 2005.] The facility will be located close to the city's exhibition grounds, away from residential uses. It will feature an indoor rodeo arena and a 4,000-seat convention centre/ice arena, complete with skyboxes. Nearby Bear Mountain, located south of the city, provides over 20 km (12 mi) of snowshoeing and cross-country skiing trails, as well as areas for downhill skiing and about 500 km (300 mi) of trails for snowmobiles, mountain bikes, and all-terrain vehicles.

Dawson Creek is served by several regional newspapers. The "Dawson Creek Daily News" (formerly "Peace River Block Daily News") and Fort St. John's "Alaska Highway News", both part of the Canwest Global chain of local papers, are dailies available in the city. The "Northeast News" is a free weekly published in Fort St. John which has sub-offices in Dawson Creek and Fort Nelson. The only radio station broadcasting from Dawson Creek is 890 CJDC AM, which first went on air in 1947. [cite web |url=http://www.calverley.ca/Part05-Dawson%20Creek/5-017.html |title=The Birth of RadioO Station CJDC |accessdate=2008-04-16 |last=Calverley |first=Dorthea |coauthors=Gordon Cummings |work=Calverley Collection] Originating in Chetwynd, 94.5 Peace FM (CHET) is rebroadcast in Dawson Creek. The Fort St. John stations 95.1 Energy FM (CHRX), 101.5 The Bear FM (CKNL), and 101.1 The Moose FM (CKFU) also reach the city. A local community group, the Cable 10 Society, operates a community television station. The only other television station is the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation affiliate CJDC-TV, which has been broadcasting from the city since 1959. [cite news |first=Mark |last=Neilson |coauthors=Day Roberts |title=CJDC-TV Marks 40th Anniversary |work=Peace River Block Daily News |date=1999-01-15]

Government and politics

The City of Dawson Creek has a council-manager form of municipal government. A six-member council, along with one mayor, is elected at-large every three years. The current mayor, Calvin Kruk, served on the city council for three years before being elected mayor in November 2005, defeating one-term incumbent Wayne Dahlen. In 2007, the city authorized $54 million in expenditures, which paid for services such as sewerage, parks, recreation, road maintenance, snow removal, water treatment, and fire and police protection. [cite web | title =2007 Annual Budget| publisher = City of Dawson Creek |year=2007 |url= http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/cityhall/departments/finance/documents/AnnualBudgetwebsite.pdf | format=pdf |accessdate =2007-10-02
cite web |publisher =City of Dawson Creek | title = 2006 Annual Report: For fiscal year ended December 31, 2006. | year = 2007 | pages = 9-30 | url = http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/documents/2007AnnualReport.pdf |accessdate = 2008-04-16] For creating its Community Energy Plan, which involved the installation of low-voltage street lights and solar-powered hot water heaters, the city was awarded the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 2007 Sustainable Community Award. [cite press release|title = Dawson Creek Captures National Award|publisher = Sustainable Dawson Creek|date=2007-06-06|url =http://www.planningforpeople.ca/news/documents/release20070606nationalaward.pdf |accessdate=2007-10-02] The city is represented in School District 59 by two school board trustees, [cite web | title = Board of School Trustees | publisher = School District 59 Peace River South | date = 2005| url =http://www.sd59.bc.ca/vpage.php?p=content+districtteams+boardoftrustees.html | accessdate = 2007-10-02] and the Peace River Regional District by one director. [cite web | title =Board of Directors | publisher = Peace River Regional District | url = http://www.peaceriverrd.bc.ca/board/index.php | accessdate =2007-10-02]

Dawson Creek is situated in the Peace River South provincial electoral district and is represented by Blair Lekstrom of the British Columbia Liberal Party in the provincial assembly. Lekstrom served as mayor of Dawson Creek between 1996 and 2001. He became a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the 2001 provincial election with 67% support from Dawson Creek polls [cite web| url = http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov01/pcs.pdf |format =PDF| title = Peace River South Electoral District| accessdate = 2008-04-16 | publisher = Elections BC | year = 2001 | work = Statement of Votes, 2001] and was re-elected in 2005 with 57% support from the city.cite web| url = http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov05/pcs.pdf |format =PDF| title = Peace River South Electoral District| accessdate = 2008-04-16 | publisher = Elections BC | date = 2005 | work = Statement of Votes, 2005] Before Lekstrom, Peace River South was represented by Dawson Creek resident Jack Weisgerber. Weisgerber was first elected in 1986 as a member of the Social Credit Party and served as the province's Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and Minister of Native Affairs. While the Social Credit Party lost power in 1991, Weisgerber was re-elected and served as interim party leader. He joined the Reform Party of British Columbia in 1994 and won re-election in 1996 as party leader, even though Dawson Creek polls put him in third place behind the BC Liberal Party and New Democratic Party candidates. [cite web| url = http://www.elections.bc.ca/elections/sov05/pcs.pdf| format =PDF| title = Peace River South Electoral District| accessdate = 2006-12-08 | publisher = Elections BC | date = 1996 | work = 36th Provincial General Election – May 28 1996]

Federally, Dawson Creek is located in the Prince George—Peace River riding. The riding is represented in the Canadian House of Commons by Conservative Jay Hill. Before Hill, who was first elected in 1993, the riding was represented by Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle. Oberle served as its Member of Parliament for 20 years. [cite web| url = http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=67f94ff8-9189-41ff-b492-144787d47708&Language=E&Section=FederalExperience |title = Oberle, The Hon. Frank, P.C.| accessdate = 2008-04-16 | publisher = Library of Parliament]

Election city polls FPTP begin|locale = city| title=Canadian federal election, 2006: Dawson Creek polls in Prince George—Peace River [cite web| url= http://www.elections.ca/scripts/OVR2006/default.html |title= Prince George—Peace River| accessdate = 2008-04-16 | publisher = Elections BC | date = 2006| work = Thirty-ninth General Election 2006—Poll-by-poll results, Official Voting Results]
style="width: 160px" |Conservative
style="width: 85px" |Jay Hill
align="right"|2,532
align="right"|64%
align="right"|60%
New Democrat
Malcolm Crockett
align="right"|653
align="right"|16%
align="right"|17%
Liberal
Nathan Bauder
align="right"|489
align="right"|12%
align="right"|16%
Green
Hilary Crowley
align="right"|265
align="right"|6.7%
align="right"|6.4%
Independent
Donna Young
align="right"|45
align="right"|1.1%
align="right"|0.9%Election city polls FPTP begin|locale = city| title=British Columbia general election, 2005: Dawson Creek polls in Peace River South
style="width: 120px" |BC Liberal
style="width: 120px"|Blair Lekstrom
align="right"|2,167
align="right"|57%
align="right"|58%
New Democrat
Pat Shaw
align="right"|1,314
align="right"|34%
align="right"|33%
Green
Ariel Lade
align="right"|338
align="right"|8.9%
align="right"|9.5%

References

External links

* [http://www.dawsoncreek.ca/ Official Site for the City of Dawson Creek]
* [http://www.calverley.ca Calverley Collection] – history of the Peace River Region of British Columbia and Alberta.
* [http://www.dcpl.dawson-creek.bc.ca/ Dawson Creek Library]
* [http://citywebpage.dawsoncreek.ca/cityhall/departments/water/documents/KiskatinawWMP2003.pdf Dawson Creek watershed study] (pdf)
* [http://www.discoverthepeacecountry.com/htmlpages/dawsoncreek.html DiscoverThePeaceCountry.com:Features Dawson Creek plus 70 areas of the Peace Country]
* [http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-25_metric_e.html Environment Canada's] 5 day weather forecast
* [http://www.southpeacemultiplex.com/ South Peace Community Multiplex] Canadian City Geographic Location (8-way)
Centre = Dawson Creek
Northwest = Fort St. John
North = Taylor
Northeast = Fairview
East = Rycroft
Southeast = Hythe
South = Pouce Coupe
Southwest = Tumbler Ridge
West = Chetwynd