Publisher's Synopsis
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia in Canada, located at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River near Kamloops Lake.The first European explorer, David Stuart, arrived in 1811; he was sent out from Fort Astoria, a Pacific Fur Company post; he spent a winter there with the Secwepemc people. He and Alexander Ross established a post there in May 1812, "Fort Cumcloups".The rival North West Company established another post, Fort Shuswap, nearby in the same year. The two operations were merged in 1813 when the North West Company officials in the region bought out the operations of the Pacific Fur Company. After the North West Company's forced merger with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821, the post became known commonly as Thompson's River Post, or Fort Thompson, which over time became known as Fort Kamloops.After the fur trade arrived in 1812, Kamloops became the crossroads for horse-drawn pack trains. In the years that followed, Kamloops' reputation as a bristling locality for trade and commerce was greatly broadened by the gold rush of the 1850s, among other things. Following the arrival of the first permanent ranchers was the railway which came through in 1893; Kamloops continued to be the resting stop for the weary travelers. Kamloops has continued to grow since then with cattle ranching, forestry and mining.The gold rush of the 1860s and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which reached Kamloops from the West in 1883, brought further growth.Pulp, plywood, veneer, cement, and a copper mine are industries in Kamloops. The Royal Inland Hospital is the city's largest employer. Thompson River University serves a student body of 10,000.
