City of Prince George Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, British Columbia
City - A populated place with legally defined boundaries, incorporated as a city municipality under the provincial Municipal Act. Surrounding the confluence of Nechako and Fraser Rivers, Cariboo Land District
Mapped Location
City of Prince George: The mapped location is an approximation and should not be used for navigation or wayfinding.
Information
General information on City of Prince George
- Feature Type: Incorporated
Official, historical, colloquial and alternative toponyms for City of Prince George
A brief list of names that this geographic feature has been named
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| City of Prince George | Official |
Origin Notes and History of City of Prince George
References to City of Prince George that document the origin of its place name
Incorporated as a City 6 March 1915. Prince George (City) confirmed 2 October 1958 on 93G/15, as labelled on BC map 1G, 1916 et seq. Boundary extention 1 January 1975 to include the former Village of South Fort George.
Fort George Post Office was opened 1 July 1906; re-named South Fort George Post Office 16 August 1910; closed 2 July 1959. A separate post office, called Fort George Post Office was opened 16 August 1910; closed 1 March 1945. Prince George Post Office was opened 1 August 1914. See also the municipality's own website.
Originally Fort George, a trading post founded in 1807 by Simon Fraser of the North West Company and named after King George III. Situated on what is now Lot 417, Cariboo Land District.
In 1906 the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway began surveying the Fort George area; in 1908 George T. Hammond staked land one-half mile south of the Nechako River about 2 miles west of the Hudson's Bay Company property, and formed the Natural Resources Security Company. This development was called Central Fort George and town lots were offered for up to $200. Hammond then subdivided the land between his original property and the Nechako River - Lots 937 & 938 Cariboo Land District - and registered this as Fort George. In 1910 a new town was established on the Fraser River 3 miles south of Fort George at Lot 933, named South Fort George, as a rival to the Hammond development on the Nechako. The GTP purchased IR #1 (Lot 343) immediately north of the old fort, and late in 1913 offered lots in the town of Prince George. When the first passenger train arrived 30 January 1914, Prince George was little more than a clearing, but nine months later it had a population of 1500 and the other two settlements had dropped to 1000. The railway refusted to build a station any place but in Prince George, despite the ruling of the Commissioners and a court case. When the Town of Prince George was incorporated in 1915, the settlement of Fort George was outside its boundaries. A proper railway station was not built until 1922. The Hudson's Bay Company closed their post at Fort George in May 1915. (See also Victoria Colonist 24 April 1910, p. 6 & 7).
The Carrier Indian name for this point at the confluence of the Nechako and Fraser Rivers was "Thle-et-leh" meaning "the confluence". In 1910 there was a real estate boom in expectation of the coming of the GTPR (now part of CNR). The construction of the railway led to a prolonged and complicated struggle among three competing townsites. However, the GRP's own townsite, Prince George, soon drew people away from rival Central Fort George and South Fort George. When the first civic elections were held in 1915, the name Prince George was chosen over Fort George by a vote of 153 to 15.
Agricultural settlement around Fort George began about 1906 when it was realized that the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (later CN Rail) would pass near the fur post. The railway arrived in 1914 and construction of the railway townsite commenced. In 1915, the City of Prince George was incorporated. The City?s name honours a former Duke of Kent, born in 1902 and killed in an air crash during the Second World War. (City of Prince George website, September 1999. Link through www.civicnet.gov.bc.ca/members/ )
Related Catalog Titles
A Bibliography for City of Prince George, Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, British Columbia
Surveying Northern British Columbia a photojournal of Frank Swannell by Jay Sherwood, F. C. Swannell
"Frank Swannell surveyed much of northern British Columbia in the early part of the 20th century. As well as keeping a journal of what he saw and what his survey crews did, he also kept a photographic record of his seven trips through the North." "This book includes both well-known photographs and others previously unpublished. As the 100th year of the Corporation of Land Surveyors of British Columbia approaches, Surveying Northern British Columbia is finally being produced and acknowledges the contributions of a man, a surveyor, a photographer, and a journalist."--BOOK JACKET
vii, 166 p. : ill., maps, ports ; 27 cm.
CIRC [ 0 ]
Regional District of Fraser-Fort George
- Albreda
- Aleza Lake
- Anzac
- Azu Ski Village
- Baldy Hughes
- Bear Lake
- Beaverley
- Bonnet Hill
- Buckhorn
- Carlson
- Cedarside
- Charella Garden
- College Heights
- Crescent Spur
- Croydon
- Dome Creek
- Dunster
- Eddy
- Ferndale
- Foreman
- Giscome
- Hart Highlands
- Hixon
- Island Cache
- Isle Pierre
- Lamming Mills
- Longworth
- Loos
- Lucerne
- District of Mackenzie
- Village of McBride
- McGregor
- McLeod Lake
- Miworth
- Mount Robson
- Mud River
- Newlands
- North Nechako
- Nukko Lake
- Otway
- Penny
- Pineview
- City of Prince George
- Punchaw
- Red Pass
- Red Rock
- Reid Lake
- Salmon Valley
- Shady Valley
- Shelley
- Shere
- Sinclair Mills
- South Fort George
- Stoner
- Summit Lake
- Telachick
- Tête Jaune Cache
- Upper Fraser
- Village of Valemount
- Vanway
- Willow River
- Woodpecker
Political Boundaries
Last updated: 2025-09-23