Williams Lake, British Columbia
| Williams Lake | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| City of Williams Lake | |
Williams Lake's welcome sign
|
|
| Nickname(s): BC's Stampede Capital, Mural Capital of the Cariboo Chilcotin | |
_location_map.svg)
 Williams Lake
|
|
| Coordinates: 52°07′46″N 122°08′18″W / 52.12944°N 122.13833°WCoordinates: 52°07′46″N 122°08′18″W / 52.12944°N 122.13833°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Region | Cariboo |
| Regional district | Cariboo Regional District |
| Incorporated | 1929 |
| Government | |
| • Governing body | Williams Lake City Council |
| • Mayor | Walt Cobb |
| • City Manager | CAO Darrell Garceau |
| Area | |
| • Land | 33.13 km2 (12.79 sq mi) |
| • Census agglomeration | 2,656.73 km2 (1,025.77 sq mi) |
| • Population centre | 40.36 km2 (15.58 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 586 m (1,923 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 10,832 |
| • Density | 327.0/km2 (847/sq mi) |
| • Census agglomeration | 18,490 |
| • Census agglomeration density | 7.0/km2 (18/sq mi) |
| • Population centre | 12,408 |
| • Population centre density | 307.4/km2 (796/sq mi) |
| Time zone | PST (UTC– 08:00) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC– 07:00) |
| Postal code | V2G |
| Area code(s) | 250 / 778 / 236 |
| Highways |
 BC 97 BC 20
|
| Website | williamslake |
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.
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.
...
Wikipedia