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 10,832 in city limits.
Williams Lake hosts the annual Williams Lake Stampede, which takes place over the Canada Day long weekend. It is 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.
History
Williams Lake is named in honour of Secwepemc chief William, whose counsel prevented the Shuswap from joining the Tsilhqot'in in their uprising against the settler population.
The story of Williams Lake began in 1860 during the Cariboo Gold Rush when Gold Commissioner Philip Henry Nind and William Pinchbeck, a constable with the British Columbia Provincial Police, 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 the other through the Fraser Canyon. They 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 centre 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.
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 centre. However, the roadbuilder Gustavus Blin Wright rerouted the original trail so that it bypassed Williams Lake and went through 150 Mile House instead.
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.
In July 2017, the province of British Columbia declared a state of emergency with more than 200 fires burning, mostly in the central region of the province. Residents from Williams Lake along with other communities in central British Columbia such as Ashcroft and 100 Mile House were given evacuation orders and most of those affected went to either Prince George or Kamloops.
Demographics
Below is the ethnic origin of people from Williams Lake. Note that percentages total more than 100% due to multiple responses e.g. German-East Indian, Norwegian-Irish-Polish.
Economy
The primary industries in Williams Lake are forestry, logging, milling, mining and ranching.
Climate
Williams Lake has a humid continental climate with warm summers. Spring is the driest time of year, and summer and winter are the wettest seasons respectively. Williams Lake receives about 2,000 hours of bright sunshine per year, which is more than most of the province.
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Williams Lake was âˆ'42.8 °C (âˆ'45 °F) on 22 January 1943, and the highest temperature ever recorded was 41.1 °C (106 °F) on 16 & 17 July 1941. Williams Lake â€" along with Billings, and nearby McLeese Lake â€" holds the record for the highest maximum temperature ever recorded in the province during the month of September. This occurred on September 4, 1988.
The Williams Lake Airport weather station is at an elevation of 939.7Â m (3,083Â ft) while the Williams Lake River weather station is at 585.2Â m (1,920Â ft), a difference of 354.5Â m (1,163Â ft). Thus the average temperature is significantly warmer in the city proper than the table below displays.
Education
Williams Lake is served by Cariboo-Chilcotin School District 27. It has five public elementary schools teaching up to grade 6 and three StrongStart BC centres. These are Cataline Elementary (Cataline Strong Start Centre), Chilcotin Road Elementary, Marie Sharpe Elementary (Marie Sharpe StrongStart Centre), Mountview Elementary (Mountview StrongStart Centre), Nesika Elementary. There is also SD 27 OR#1 Wildwood, a StrongStart Outreach Centre. One secondary school, Lake City Secondary School, which was formed by an merger of Columneetza Secondary School and Williams Lake Secondary School in 2013, teaches grade 7 to 12 students. Alternative education provision is met by the Graduation Routes Other Ways centre and the Skyline Alternate School program. The GROW Continuing Education Centre offers grades 10â€"12 for adults. Anne Stevenson Secondary School was closed in 2003 due to falling numbers of students.
There are four independent schools in Williams Lake, West Coast Adventist DL School (K-12), Sacred Heart Catholic School (K-7), Maranatha Christian School (K-12) and Cariboo Adventist Academy (K-12).
Colleges and universities
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.
Sports and recreation
- The Williams Lake Stampeders are the local ice hockey team, playing in the Central Interior Hockey League; their arena is the Cariboo Memorial Complex
- The Williams Lake TimberWolves resumed play in September 2009 in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). Due to financial obligations, the BCHL has suspended the Williams Lake franchise indefinitely.
- Williams Lake has facilities for curling, golf, tennis, swimming, soccer, rugby, hockey, and baseball.
- Williams Lake Slo-Pitch League is a 30 team league with a season from late April to August.
- There is skiing and snowboarding available at the Mount Timothy Ski Area located near 150 Mile House.
- The Thunder Mountain Speedway holds stock car races, and the Crash-to-Pass also holds races in the summer months.
- Mountain biking and hiking are popular activities on trails.
- Williams Lake is the home of two cadet corps of the Canadian Cadet Organization. The 202 Chilcotin Royal Canadian Sea Cadets and the 3064 Royal Canadian Army Cadets (Rocky Mountain Rangers).
Arts and culture
- The Central Cariboo Arts and Culture Society was formed in 2010 as a BC registered non-profit society, with a mandate not only to administer this function, but also to serve the many existing independent cultural organizations and events and to facilitate the development of arts and culture in the central part of the region.
- The Station House Studio and Gallery Society, a non-profit organization, was formed in 1981 to preserve and restore the BC Rail Station at No. 1 Mackenzie Avenue North, and to provide studio and gallery space. Each month, the Gallery exhibits a variety of contemporary works in many mediums by local, regional, and touring artists. The Society also operates a gift shop that features the work of local artisans and crafts people.
- The Museum of the Cariboo-Chilcotin offers a glimpse into the Central Cariboo's history and is home to the BC Cowboy Hall of Fame.
- Williams Lake Studio Theatre Society has now operated for more than fifty years.
- The Williams Lake Community Band meets on Thursday evenings at 7:30Â pm in the band room at WLSS under the directorship of Michael Butterfield. This band performs at local community events such as the Remembrance Day Ceremony, the Stampede Parade, and at anniversary or opening ceremonies such as the Tourism Centre.
- The Williams Lake Pipe Band was founded in 2006 and practices at the Royal Canadian Legion in Williams Lake on Tuesdays.
- Author Mark Leiren-Young wrote a comic memoir (Never Shoot a Stampede Queen: A Rookie Reporter in the Cariboo Country) about his experiences with The Williams Lake Tribune, which won the 2009 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
- Williams Lake is referenced in the Swedish movie Skills during the scene in which various characters from around the world are seen betting on online underground parkour-skateboard-breakdance-martial arts battles.
Transportation
Williams Lake is located on the junction of Highway 97 and Highway 20. Greyhound Lines provides bus service south to Vancouver and Kamloops, north to Prince George. CN Rail offers freight service north and south of Williams Lake. Local public transportation consists of the BC Transit and HandyDART bus service.
The Williams Lake Airport is located 4.2 nautical miles (7.8Â km; 4.8Â mi) northeast 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. There was a small seaplane base at Williams Lake Water Aerodrome but it is no longer in operation.
Local attractions
Williams Lake Stampede
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 organizations, such as 4-H 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
Scout Island, which is 9.69Â ha (23.9 acres) in size, is both a park and a nature area. It consists of a beach, picnic area, boat launch and several trails through mainly natural environment. Scout Island is actually two islands that are connected to the west end of Williams Lake by a causeway.
Located on the island is the Nature House, which provides a view of the marsh next to the island. It is run by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists and provides information, displays and programs dealing with the local environment.
The island is leased to Williams Lake by the owners, the Nature Trust of British Columbia.
Media
Television
- Shaw TV â€" local Community Access Channel (only available on Shaw Cable)
Radio
- AM 570 â€" CKWL, Country, "The Wolf"
- AM 860 â€" CBRL, CBC Radio One
- FM 94.3 â€" CISK Sikh Radio
- FM 95.1 â€" VOAR Christian Radio (broadcasting from Newfoundland)
- FM 96.1 â€" VF2235, First Nations community radio, "Canadian First Nations Radio or CFNR"
- FM 97.5 â€" CFFM-FM, Rock, "The GOAT," formerly "The Rush" and earlier "The Max".
- FM 100.7 â€" CJLJ-FM, community radio
Other radio services
There was a Loran-C station at Williams Lake.
Publications
- Williams Lake Tribune (owned by Black Press)
- Cariboo Advisor (owned by Black Press)
- Welcome to Williams Lake local news site
Notable people
- Rick Hansen - Canadian paraplegic athlete and activist for people with spinal cord injuries, who became well-known during his fundraising Man in Motion world tour
- Trevor Mack - Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) filmmaker
- Carey Price - Montreal Canadiens starting goalie regularly attended organised hockey in Williams Lake as a child, traveling from Anahim Lake, British Columbia by plane.
- Kayla Moleschi - Canadian Olympian and current member of the Canadian women rugby sevens team
Surrounding communities
Bibliography
- Cariboo-Chilcotin Pioneer People and Places Irene Stangoe ISBNÂ 1-895811-12-0
References
Notes
External links
- City of Williams Lake
