Where is the Peace Country?

Find a map of Canada and locate the northeast corner of the province of British Columbia. Locate Dawson Creek, Fort St. John, or the Peace River and you will know the area that the map on the right pertains to.

The two largest communities in the B.C. Peace are the cities of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek.
Fort St. John is the oldest white settlement in the province of B.C. and was established by the North West Company in 1794. The original Fort St. John, built along the banks of the Peace River, was attacked and destroyed by indians in 1823. Other communities of note are Hudson's Hope (known as the playground of the Peace), Chetwynd (The chainsaw sculpture capital of the world), Pouce Coupe (the pioneer's town), Tumbler Ridge (gateway to the Monkman pass and the spectacular Kinuseo falls) and the growing town of Taylor.

The famous explorer Alexander Mackenzie and his crew traveled up the Peace River in 1793 on their trec to find a trade route to the Pacific Ocean. In talking to the Beaver Indians, ( the tribes living north of the river) Mackenzie stated that the land along the Peace was indeed the most "Oochu Meotati", (the Beaver interpetation being "the most beautiful scenery"), that he had ever seen. The Cree indians called the land "Miyon a-koosie", meaning "most beautiful".
Another tribe, the Salteaux, fled the Winnepeg area in 1883 and endured a ten-year treck that ended with them settling around the shores of Moberly Lake. The Salteaux fled in fear of the North West Mounted Police after a squirmish with white settlers over some wayward cattle. Of the 30 or so Salteaux that started the journey, only about a dozen lived to find thier new home. By the 1880's, there was very little food to be found across the prairies as the buffalo had already been all but wiped out.

DA Thomas paddlewheeler heading upstream near Fort St John around 1920.

In Mackenzie's day, much of the Peace Country was grass covered praire and teemed with bison, elk, deer, and moose. Today, bison, as well as reindeer, emus, llamas and other non traditional critters, are bred and raised on many farms throughout the Peace country.
Traditional livestock such as cattle, horses, and sheep are raised throughout the entire region. Grain farming (wheat, canola, oats, barley, and more recently, field peas) and cattle ranching make up the better part of the agriculture enterprises in the Peace. The Peace River area of both B.C. and Alberta is also know for its fescue production.

Oil and gas fields also dot the Peace region and provide employment for many of the people of the Peace. The petroleum industry has made Fort St. John its headquarters, and this has given the city the nickname of "energy capital of B.C", more recently dubbed "the energetic city". The Peace country lies over one of the largest natural gas fields in the world and this resource in recent years has been increasingly developed to heat the homes and industries of those in the U.S. and southern Canada.
Hydro electicity, produced from the W.A.C Bennett dam and the Peace Canyon Dam, adds up to 33% of all the electricity produced in B.C. and form the backbone of the Hudson's Hope economy. Hudson's Hope and the two nearby dams are also very popular tourist sites. The guided tours of the Bennett dam, the dinosaur displays at the Peace Canyon Dam, and the unmatched beauty of the prairies meeting the mountains provide a truly unforgettable experience.

Forestry forms the main industry of the town of Chetwynd, though the oil & gas industry is constantly growing in the area. Chetwynd is the jumping off point to Tumbler Ridge to the south, Hudson's Hope to the north, and Dawson Creek to the east. A new coal mine, set to open just to the west of Chetwynd, promises to solidify Chetwynd's claim to the fastest growing community in the Peace.

The town of Tumbler Ridge was built in the early 1980's to be the center for the large open pit coal mines that were just then being developed. Spectacular scenery, fantastic fishing, and abundant wildlife are just three of the many reasons to visit this area. While there, be sure to take a tour of the mines and visit the thundering Kinuseo Falls on the Murray River. You can riverboat right to the base of the "higher than Niagara" falls.

The town of Taylor, located on a picturesque flat just above the Peace River, is the second fastest growing community in the region. Taylor is home to the Fiberco pulpmill, one of Canfor's sawmills, and Westcoast Energy's McMahon natural gas processing plant. The rich warm soils along the river bottom allow several market gardens to thrive and produce crops not usually thought to be grown this far north. The original suspension bridge, built over the Peace River at Taylor during the construction of the Alaska Higthway, collapsed in 1957. Ironically, the center span that collapsed had come from a bridge that had collapsed earlier in the U.S.

Dawson Creek is probably most famous for its being the start of the famed Alaska Highway. The "Mile 0" city is named after the famous geologist and explorer, George Dawson, who was in the area in 1875 and also 1879. Based more on an agricultural driven economy, Dawson Creek enjoys a quieter and more relaxed pace of life than many of the other communities in the area. I heard it said that at one time, Dawson Creek was the largest inland grain terminal in all of Canada. Both the CN railway (coming in from the east) and the BC railway (coming in from the west) serve to transport goods both to and from Dawson Creek. Another important note in the history of Dawson Creek was an explosion in February of 1943 which flattened the greater portion of the buisiness district of the town. A bunkhouse full of explosives somehow caught fire and .....well..... I guess the rest is pretty easy to figure out.

Come see the land of the mighty Peace River. The long summer days and the dancing northern lights will leave an unforgettable imprint in your memory. To describe all there is to see and do would take more time than either you or I have to give. Mountain scenery, deep river canyons, unbelievable wildlife, the wind blowing waves through the grain fields, and endless skies will beckon you to once again return to the Peace River Country.

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