Fort St. James | |
|---|---|
| District of Fort St. James[1] | |
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 Location of Fort St. James inBritish Columbia | |
  Fort St. James  Fort St. James | |
| Coordinates:54°26′35″N124°15′15″W / 54.44306°N 124.25417°W /54.44306; -124.25417 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | Omineca Country |
| Regional district | Regional District of Bulkley Nechako |
| Founded | 1806 |
| Incorporated | 1952 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Municipal Council |
| • Mayor | Martin Elphee |
| Area | |
• Total | 23.47 km2 (9.06 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 700 m (2,300 ft) |
| Population (2016) | |
• Total | 1,598 |
| • Density | 72/km2 (190/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (PDT) |
| Postal code span | |
| Area codes | +250, +778 |
| Highways | 27 |
| Waterways | Stuart Lake,Stuart River,Necoslie River, Nahounli Creek |
| Website | www |
| Official name | Fort St. James National Historic Site of Canada |
| Designated | 1948 |
Fort St. James is adistrict municipality and former furtrading post in northern centralBritish Columbia, Canada. It is located on the south-eastern shore ofStuart Lake in theOmineca Country, at the northern terminus ofHighway 27, which connects toHighway 16 atVanderhoof.
It is home to the John Prince Research Forest which features abundant wildlife.[2] This community celebrated itsbicentennial in 2016 and is incorporated as adistrict municipality.
Founded by theNorth West Company explorer andfur traderSimon Fraser in 1806, it came under the management of theHudson's Bay Company in 1821 with the forced merger of the two battling fur companies. Also known historically asStuart Lake Post, it is one of British Columbia's oldest permanent European settlements and was the administrative centre for theHudson's Bay Company'sNew Caledonia fur district.[3] The fort, rebuilt four times, continued as an important trading post well into the twentieth century. Now the fort is aNational Historic Site of Canada[4][5] with some buildings dating to the 1880s.
As part of his commission from theNorth West Company,Fraser and his assistantsJohn Stuart andJames McDougall explored potential river routes to thePacific Ocean from 1805 through 1808. Explorations in the Winter of 1805-06 by McDougall resulted in the discovery of Carrier's Lake, now known asStuart Lake. In the heart of territory inhabited by the Carrier orDakelhFirst Nation, this proved to be a lucrative locale forfur trading and so a post – Fort St. James – was built on its shore in 1806. In 1821, the fort came under the control of theHudson's Bay Company, when theNorth West Company merged with it. It subsequently became the administrative headquarters of the company's vastNew Caledonia District.
The fur trade was slow to take root in the area, since the economy of theDakelh people had been based on the fishery, rather than on trapping. In addition, there were customary and ceremonial restrictions which placed obstacles in the way of an efficient fur economy. Nonetheless, eventually the post became profitable, and continued to function until its closure in 1952.
The community is located on the south-eastern shore ofStuart Lake, at the head of theStuart River. Both the lake and the river are named for Fraser's assistantJohn Stuart, who would later become head of theNew Caledonia District of the North West Company.
Fort St. James is located in the sub-boreal spruce zone ofBritish Columbia, a sub-division of thehemiboreal climatic zone. It is characterised by severe, snowy winters and short, warm summers. The region is rich in wildlife. Under theKöppen climate classification Fort St. James is classified as ahumid continental climate (Dfb).
| Climate data for Fort St. James, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1895–present | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 12.0 (53.6) | 13.0 (55.4) | 17.1 (62.8) | 24.4 (75.9) | 35.0 (95.0) | 33.9 (93.0) | 36.7 (98.1) | 35.6 (96.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 26.5 (79.7) | 16.1 (61.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 36.7 (98.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −5.3 (22.5) | −1.7 (28.9) | 4.0 (39.2) | 9.9 (49.8) | 15.6 (60.1) | 19.6 (67.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 16.4 (61.5) | 9.0 (48.2) | 0.6 (33.1) | −3.8 (25.2) | 9.0 (48.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −9.5 (14.9) | −6.8 (19.8) | −1.8 (28.8) | 3.9 (39.0) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 14.8 (58.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 4.3 (39.7) | −3.0 (26.6) | −7.8 (18.0) | 3.5 (38.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −13.7 (7.3) | −11.8 (10.8) | −7.7 (18.1) | −2.2 (28.0) | 2.8 (37.0) | 7.2 (45.0) | 8.9 (48.0) | 7.9 (46.2) | 3.9 (39.0) | −0.5 (31.1) | −6.5 (20.3) | −11.7 (10.9) | −2.0 (28.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −49.4 (−56.9) | −49.4 (−56.9) | −39.4 (−38.9) | −29.4 (−20.9) | −11.7 (10.9) | −6.1 (21.0) | −5.6 (21.9) | −7.8 (18.0) | −13.3 (8.1) | −23.0 (−9.4) | −37.8 (−36.0) | −47.2 (−53.0) | −49.4 (−56.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 48.1 (1.89) | 30.0 (1.18) | 25.7 (1.01) | 23.7 (0.93) | 38.9 (1.53) | 50.6 (1.99) | 50.6 (1.99) | 45.0 (1.77) | 39.3 (1.55) | 48.1 (1.89) | 44.5 (1.75) | 42.6 (1.68) | 487.2 (19.18) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 4.9 (0.19) | 3.6 (0.14) | 5.9 (0.23) | 18.0 (0.71) | 38.2 (1.50) | 50.6 (1.99) | 50.6 (1.99) | 45.0 (1.77) | 39.1 (1.54) | 38.7 (1.52) | 15.7 (0.62) | 4.2 (0.17) | 314.5 (12.38) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 43.3 (17.0) | 26.4 (10.4) | 19.8 (7.8) | 5.7 (2.2) | 0.7 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.2 (0.1) | 9.5 (3.7) | 28.8 (11.3) | 38.4 (15.1) | 172.7 (68.0) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.3 | 12.4 | 12.7 | 13.7 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 14.0 | 13.1 | 11.3 | 139.1 |
| Average rainy days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 2.0 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 12.7 | 13.7 | 11.3 | 12.1 | 12.4 | 5.3 | 1.8 | 95.2 |
| Average snowy days(≥ 0.2 cm) | 11.4 | 7.4 | 6.0 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.08 | 2.4 | 9.0 | 10.0 | 48.8 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 81.6 | 72.6 | 57.0 | 45.0 | 44.1 | 48.0 | 47.3 | 47.7 | 52.7 | 62.9 | 79.8 | 84.2 | 60.2 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 51.3 | 85.5 | 151.3 | 207.6 | 245.7 | 260.2 | 275.3 | 256.8 | 177.7 | 116.0 | 60.2 | 41.0 | 1,928.6 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 20.8 | 31.3 | 41.3 | 49.3 | 49.5 | 50.6 | 53.4 | 55.6 | 46.4 | 35.4 | 23.5 | 17.9 | 39.6 |
| Source:Environment Canada,[6][7][8] (Sunshine and humidity data fromFort St. James Airport) | |||||||||||||
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Fort St. James had a population of 1,386 living in 586 of its 671 total private dwellings, a change of-13.3% from its 2016 population of 1,598. With a land area of 23.45 km2 (9.05 sq mi), it had a population density of59.1/km2 (153.1/sq mi) in 2021.[9]
About one quarter of the population of the greater Fort St. James area identify as being ofFirst Nations origin[10] The town is surrounded by numerous, smallFirst Nations communities andIndian reserves, includingPinchie,Tachie, andNak'azdli.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Fort St. James had the highest proportion ofSouth Asians of any municipality in Canada, forming approximately 22% of the total population as per the1991 census.[11] The South Asian community of Fort St. James was composed mostly ofPunjabis of theSikh faith. Gursikh Temple, the localgurdwara, was built in 1981. The Sikh population of Fort St. James declined from 435 in 1991 (21.6% of the municipality's 2,015 residents)[12] to 20 in 2021 (1.5% of the municipality's 1,330 residents),[13] as many Sikhs moved toGreater Vancouver.[14] The Gursikh Temple was donated to the VictoryChristianChurch in 2013.[15][14]
| Panethnic group | 2021[16] | 2016[17] | 2011[18] | 2006[19] | 2001[20] | 1996[21] | 1991[22][23] | 1986[24][25][26]: 98 | 1981[27] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| European[a] | 925 | 69.55% | 890 | 56.33% | 1,055 | 64.53% | 990 | 73.06% | 1,195 | 62.08% | 1,320 | 64.55% | 1,225 | 60.79% | 1,185 | 59.85% | 1,390 | 62.19% |
| Indigenous | 300 | 22.56% | 555 | 35.13% | 445 | 27.22% | 160 | 11.81% | 500 | 25.97% | 295 | 14.43% | 265 | 13.15% | 425 | 21.46% | 455 | 20.36% |
| South Asian | 25 | 1.88% | 60 | 3.8% | 75 | 4.59% | 165 | 12.18% | 200 | 10.39% | 405 | 19.8% | 435 | 21.59% | 335 | 16.92% | 345 | 15.44% |
| Other[b] | 35 | 2.63% | 85 | 5.38% | 50 | 3.06% | 40 | 2.95% | 30 | 1.56% | 25 | 1.22% | 90 | 4.47% | 35 | 1.77% | 45 | 2.01% |
| Total responses | 1,330 | 95.96% | 1,580 | 98.87% | 1,635 | 96.69% | 1,355 | 100% | 1,925 | 99.9% | 2,045 | 99.95% | 2,015 | 97.91% | 1,980 | 99.85% | 2,235 | 97.85% |
| Total population | 1,386 | 100% | 1,598 | 100% | 1,691 | 100% | 1,355 | 100% | 1,927 | 100% | 2,046 | 100% | 2,058 | 100% | 1,983 | 100% | 2,284 | 100% |
| Religious group | 2021[16] | 2011[18] | 2001[20] | 1991[22] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
| Christian | 395 | 29.7% | 775 | 47.55% | 970 | 50.39% | 1,065 | 52.85% |
| Sikh | 20 | 1.5% | 50 | 3.07% | 200 | 10.39% | 435 | 21.59% |
| Muslim | 20 | 1.5% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Buddhist | 10 | 0.75% | 0 | 0% | 10 | 0.52% | 0 | 0% |
| Hindu | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Jewish | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Other religion | 20 | 1.5% | 55 | 3.37% | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Irreligious | 855 | 64.29% | 755 | 46.32% | 760 | 39.48% | 510 | 25.31% |
| Total responses | 1,330 | 95.96% | 1,630 | 96.39% | 1,925 | 99.9% | 2,015 | 97.91% |
HistoricHBC operations in the Pacific Northwest | ||||||||
| Columbia Department |
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| New Caledonia District |
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54°26′35″N124°15′15″W / 54.44306°N 124.25417°W /54.44306; -124.25417
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| Other | |
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