Historical Settlement
This section of the Fraser River — called "Sto:lo" in the Halqemeylem language of the area, and who have adopted it as the collective name for all the peoples of the Fraser Lowland, other than the Skwxwu7kmesh and Musqueam — was a vital lifeline before the first European contact, and has been an important transportation corridor ever since.
In the nineteenth century, steamboats plied the waters between Georgia Strait and Yale, and were especially busy during the gold rush from 1858 into the 1860s. Boats continued to provide a vital link in the valley as the gold rush tapered off and Europeans began farming.
Eventually, roads and railways were built, fueled by and in turn fuelling population growth. Today, the most important transportation l through the region are the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian National Railway transcontinental main lines, the Lougheed Highway (Hwy 7), and the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1).
Read more about this topic: Fraser Valley
Famous quotes containing the words historical and/or settlement:
“The past itself, as historical change continues to accelerate, has become the most surreal of subjects—making it possible ... to see a new beauty in what is vanishing.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“Free from public debt, at peace with all the world, and with no complicated interests to consult in our intercourse with foreign powers, the present may be hailed as the epoch in our history the most favorable for the settlement of those principles in our domestic policy which shall be best calculated to give stability to our Republic and secure the blessings of freedom to our citizens.”
—Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)