Fort Nelson

FORT NELSON, town, pop 4,514 (2006), is located in the northeast corner of BC on the ALASKA HWY, 483 km north of DAWSON CREEK. A FUR TRADE fort named for the British naval hero Lord Nelson was first established in the region by the NORTH WEST CO in 1805. The HBC built a post in 1865 near the confluence of the Fort Nelson and MUSKWA rivers, where the AIRPORT is today, an area once known as Otter Park. It was rebuilt farther east in 1890, and became known as Old Fort Nelson. The construction of the Alaska Hwy during WWII contributed to economic development, as did the arrival of a BC RAIL extension in 1971. The economy is based on resource industries, chiefly the FOREST INDUSTRY, until its collapse in 2008, and more importantly the OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY. Until 1997 the town also had the world's largest chopstick factory. The Horn River basin north of town is expected to be one of the most productive natural gas fields in N America. Incorporated in 1987, the town is a stopover point for travellers on the highway and for other visitors attracted by the surrounding wilderness. A campus of Northern Lights COMMUNITY COLLEGE is located here.