Gibsons

Gibsons, BC, incorporated as a town in 1982, population 4437 (2011c), 4182 (2006c). The Town of Gibsons is located just north of Vancouver at the western entrance to Howe Sound. The town is reached from Vancouver by car ferry from Horseshoe Bay. The Chekwelp band of Squamish (see Salish, Central Coast) lived in the area until relocated to the town of Squamish in the 1890s. The town is named after George William Gibson, who arrived in BC in the 1850s and settled in the area in 1886. Originally (and still colloquially) it was called Gibsons Landing, but the post office shortened the name to Gibsons in 1947. Logging and fishing began late in the 19th century.

A large influx of Finnish settlers in 1905 led to the establishment of the community's first store and post office. A jam-canning industry was important in the 1920s and 1930s. Today the forest industry, a pulp mill at Port Mellon (north of Gibsons), commercial fishing and tourism are the mainstays of the economy. Gibsons became well known as the locale for the CBC television series "The Beachcombers" filmed there between 1971 and 1991. Known as the "Gateway to the Sunshine Coast," Gibsons' proximity to Metropolitan Vancouver has spurred its recent growth.