Vanderhoof

Vanderhoof, BC, incorporated as a district municipality in 1982, population 4480 (2011c), 4064 (2006c). The District of Vanderhoof is located 98 km west of PRINCE GEORGE and is the geographic centre of the province of British Columbia. The district is named after one of its founders, Herbert Vanderhoof of Chicago, who was an employee of the Grand Trunk Pacific Development Company, and who laid out the town site. The town site grew very quickly in its early years but growth stalled during World War II as many of its male inhabitants left to fight overseas. After the war lumber prices started to rise and Vanderhoof began to grow again. The population increased greatly during the construction of the Kenny Dam on the NECHAKO RIVER in the early 1950s. Today, the district acts as a service centre for the Nechako Valley. The main industries of the area are forestry and agriculture, especially forage crops and beef.