Fort St. John marks 50 years as a city this Saturday

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — October 11th marks 50 years since Fort St. John officially became a city, a milestone that a longtime resident says highlights how far the community has come.

“When you think back to 1975, our population was about 8,000,” said Larry Evans, a volunteer and past president of the North Peace Historical Society. “I have no idea what it is today, but I’m sure it’s climbing [up to] 30,000. It just shows you how vibrant Fort St. John can be.”

In the last municipal census in 2021, Fort St. John’s population was recorded as 21,465, compared to 8,947 in 1976, one year after its incorporation as a city.

While 1975 marked the city’s incorporation, Evans said the community’s roots stretch much further back. Fort St. John first became a village on December 31st, 1947, then a town in 1958, which Evans said was due to the growing oil and gas industry.

“Everything happened in ’57: oil and gas took off and the railroad came to town in ’58,” Evans told Energeticcity.ca. “That was our entrance into being a town. From then, it just took off.”

Since then, the city has transformed from a small northern settlement into a regional hub anchored by three major industries: the previously mentioned oil and gas, forestry and agriculture, the latter of which Evans called the community’s “mainstay.”

“Farming is what started this community, really,” he said. “And over the last 50 years, all three industries have progressed to make the city what it is today.”

Although the anniversary “snuck up” on the North Peace Museum, which will not be hosting an event for the occasion, Evans intends to provide the city with a 1975 newspaper supplement.

A newspaper supplement is a separate section of a newspaper that provides more in-depth coverage of specific topics or events.

The supplement commemorates the city’s incorporation and includes photographs and letters from the mayors of Fort St. John and Dawson Creek. Evans hopes the city will republish or feature this supplement in a new article.

Looking back, Evans said the last five decades have brought more than just growth; they’ve brought a sense of identity.

“We’ve got more businesses, more people, more clubs and more amenities,” he said. “It’s all come together to form the city we see today, and we’ll probably still be growing 50 years from now.”