A Little Bit About Fort  St. John

Fort St. John is located immediately along the Alaska Highway in North Eastern British Columbia. Fort St. John is a small city of approximately 18,000 people and the primary industry in the area is oil and gas. Year-round recreational opportunities abound in and around Fort St. John. Among these are camping, hunting and fishing along the beautiful Peace River located just 10 kilometers out of town, Fish Creek Community Forest, which is situated within the city, and is excellent for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, Charlie Lake, the Oilman‘s Curling Bonspiel, local hockey, the modern North Peace Leisure Pool and the ’High on Ice’ festival which brings ice-carvers from around the globe.

Fort St. John is located 55 kilometers (33 miles) north of Dawson Creek‘s ‘Mile 0’, 405 kilometers (242 miles) to Fort Nelson, 741 kilometers (463 miles) to Liard Hotsprings, 128 kilometers (80 miles) to the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, 461 kilometers (277 miles) to Prince George, 106 kilometers (64 miles) to Hudson’s Hope, 170 kilometers (102 miles) to Tumbler Ridge, and 202 kilometers (121 miles) to Grande Prairie, Alberta.

Our History

1793 Sir Alexander McKenzie embarked on his historic journey to the Pacific Ocean. During his voyage he passed the mouth of the Pine River and noted the excellent potential for a future trading establishment.

1794 -1805 The first fort, called ’Rocky Mountain Fort, was established along the Peace River at the mouth of the ‘Pine River‘. The ‘Rocky Mountain Fort’, to this day, is the earliest European settlement in mainland British Columbia.

1806-1823 Fort d’Epinette, also called ‘St. John’, was established by the Northwest Company. The name permanently changed to ‘Fort St. John’ when the Hudson’s Bay Company took over management of the fort. In 1823 the fort is closed.

1860’s - 1872 ‘Fort St. John’ is reopened on the south side of the Peace River after a 40 year lapse.

1872 - 1925 Hudson’ Bay factor Frank Beatton moves the post of ‘Fort St. John’ directly across the Peace River to the north side onto what is today referred to as ’Old Fort’ located immediately outside of the city of Fort St. John.

1925 to Present Frank Beatton again moves ’Fort St. John’ to the location of Fish Creek, located just outside of present day Fort St. John. Several years later the fort was moved one final time to the present day city of Fort St. John.