Stewart (British Columbia)
Stewart is a small town at the end of the Portland Canal in Kitimat - Stikine district in the western Canadian province of British Columbia.
History
The settled in the territory of the Nisga'a Nass River designated the plains around the mouth of the Bear River in the Pacific as a Kounst Skam - Safe place, as he from the attacks of the Haida, who controlled the rest of the coastal regions protected. The area at the eastern end of the Portland Canal was a significant seasonal settlement occupied especially in early autumn for collecting berries, was resorted to fishing for salmon and hunting.
It was not until 1896 took Captain David du Bose Gaillard ( 1859-1913 ) from the United States Army Corps of Engineers a research trip to explore the areas in the extreme south of Alaska. The soon after onset detailed exploration of the area led to the discovery of gold and silver deposits in the valley of the Salmon River in 1898. Fred Stewart settled since 1902 in the area and after the 1905 recent opening of a post office named the postmaster Robert M. Stewart, the still nameless settlement by themselves.
The mining industry was the population increase up to the time of the First World War to around 10,000 people. Since only little space for the construction of houses was available, stilt houses were built in watts and in the sea, whose remains are still visible today. Since the mines proved to be very productive, took the inhabitants by the end of the twenties from up to approximately 500. It was not until the opening of the Granduc copper mine in 1956 resulted in an increase of the population to about 2,000; However, this value goes since the mine closure in 1984 steadily.
The granting of local autonomy for the church took place on May 16, 1930 ( incorporated as the Village Municipality ).
Demography
The census in 2011 showed a population of 494 inhabitants of the settlement. The population of the settlement has thereby decreased compared to the census of 2006 at 0.4 %, while the population grew in the Province of British Columbia at the same time by 7.0%.
Economy
Main sources of income are smaller mining companies, the timber industry and the fishing industry and tourism.
The average income of employees from Stewart in 2005 was well above average C $ 29,991, while it was at the same time the average for the entire province of British Columbia 24 867 C $. The difference in earnings between men ( 41 349 C $ ) and women ( 23,405 C $) is in Stewart also very pronounced and can be partly explained by the difference in pay in the main areas of employment ( men = wood manufacturing, forestry, and in manufacturing is and mining; women = trade and catering industry) and on the other by the different degree of employment of men and women.
Traffic
The only regionally important port is the northernmost year-round ice-free Pacific port of Canada, the expansion of Highway 37, the branch leads Meziadin Junction as Highway 37A about Stewart to the border at Hyder, leaves its meaning but disappear in favor of Prince Rupert.
Is the airport of Stewart Between the city center and the Bear River (IATA: ZST, ICAO: CZST, Canada Identifier: - ). The airport has only one paved runway, and runway of 1,189 meters in length. On the Bear River and just south of the church, there is the local water Airfield (IATA: -, ICAO: -, Canada Identifier: CAC9 ).