Greater Vancouver - A Brief History

Vancouver, BC. 49 N 123 W

Greater Vancouver is a collection of towns, villages, and cities in the area of the world as the Pacific Northwest. This region has many names. It is the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. It is also the South Coast of British Columbia. It is the northern end of an area called Cascadia that includes Vancouver and Seattle.

Before the Europeans, there were the First Nation tribes that populated the shores of the Vancouver area. Names like Sto:lo, Tsawassen, Musqueam, and Squamish are a part of the history of this region.

But in the past few hundred years, the face of this region has changed. The European explorers came. British captains like Cook and Vancouver, Spanish explorers like Quadra. Their names can still be found in this region. Most notably, Captain George Vancouver's name graces two cities in the Pacific Northwest.

Vancouver was not always called Vancouver. Before there were any cities or any development, there were only a collection of small settlements in a British colony then known as New Caledonia. New Caledonia included the present-day province of British Columbia and the states of Washington and Oregon.

These settlements popped up mostly along the water where transportation and industry thrived. The village of Granville developed on the shores of today's Burrard Inlet. It was a small village driven by the new logging industry in the area. Granville was no more than a collection of bars and hotels at the time. Small beginnings.

In 1867, Canada was formed in the east. There was a sudden push to create a country from Atlantic to Pacific. It was a dream. A dream to create a great country and a dream to keep Americans from taking over the whole continent. The Americans in the south were expanding rapidly west across the land.

In the decades that followed, the dream became reality because of the construction of a national railway. The railway was the key in uniting the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean. The railway initially ended in the town of Port Moody at the end of Burrard Inlet, but was later extended to Granville which was closer to the mouth of the inlet and had a better harbour.

With the construction of the railway, the population boomed. People flocked to the area to make money. In 1886, Granville changed its name and the City of Vancouver was born.

In 1895, British Columbia joined Confederation and New Caledonia was no more. The areas south of the 49th parallel were handed over to the Americans and land north of the 49 were Canadian.

The original capital of British Columbia was New Westminster, the Royal City. Eventually, though, they decided to move the capital to Victoria on Vancouver Island

The City continued to grow over the next century. It witnessed two World Wars, the Great Depression, and the advent of the automobile.

In 1986, the World Exposition came to Vancouver and helped to place it on the international stage. Expo 86 continues to have a lasting effect on Vancouver including SkyTrain, an automated light rapid transit system, and the Concord Pacific lands that are being developed with highrises.

What the future holds for Vancouver is not altogether clear. It has humble beginnings and relatively quiet past, but its promise as a "city of destiny" is still there.