subject: Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics: The City Of Vancouver [print this page] From the figure skating to the bob sledding, from the ice hockey, to the ski jumping, there is nothing quite like being there to witness the winter Olympic games. And if you're planning to see the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, it might be nice to know a little something about this gem in British Columbia. So, just in time for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, here is The City of Vancouver's history:
The very first European to pay a visit to the area that would eventually become the city of Vancouver was Jose Maria Narvaez of Spain, in 1791, although Samuel Bawlf insists that Francis Drake may have visited the area in 1579. In either case, a year after Navarez, George Vancouver visited the place and officially put it on the map, giving everything their modern day European names.
Simon Fraser, an explorer is reputed to be the first person to set foot in the actual area of Vancouver itself (Vancouver was supposed to have scouted the surrounding areas). In 1808, Fraser traveled from the east, down the Fraser River to the area where the University of British Columbia would eventually be built.
The city grew up around a gold rush a few years later when Fraser claimed to have found gold in the area and then a lumber trade which established the first permanent town. The City of Vancouver was officially incorporated on 6 April 1886, the same year that the first railroad arrived, finally bringing the young town an easy way for people to find their way over there.
The name, of course in memory and honor of George Vancouver, was chosen by William Van Horne, the president of the Canadian railroad who came to dedicate the terminal in the new city in the same year. The year 1886 also saw a complete rebuilding effort of the new city since a fire razed the city. A new Vancouver fire department was established after the fire (and not to worry, for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, the city of Vancouver now has a world class fire department).
The city was built largely on the strength of the natural resources surrounding it and of course on the presence of the railroad link which allowed the materials to be exported to other parts of Canada. Manufacturing did not really take in the city until much later since there was little call for such services in a small town like Vancouver.
Throughout the 20th century, the city grew by leaps and bounds until the City of Vancouver was finally chosen to host the Vancouver 2010 Olympic games.
