Terrace, a city nestled in the Skeena region of west central British Columbia, Canada, is a regional hub that offers a unique blend of history and natural beauty. Located east of the confluence of the Kitsumkalum River into the Skeena River, Terrace is a gateway to the north, with junctions branching off BC Highway 16 to the Nisga'a Highway (BC Highway 113) to the west and the Stewart–Cassiar Highway (BC Highway 37) to the east.
The geography of Terrace is marked by the Skeena River, which features rock outcroppings, gravel and sandbars, wetlands, sloughs, and islands. Over 25,000 years ago, the river cut through glaciers to create the benches (stepped terraces) and deposited well-drained sandy loamy soils suited for agriculture. The surrounding ecosystem is a hybrid coastal-interior rainforest, primarily consisting of western red cedar, western hemlock, amabilis fir or "balsam" and Sitka spruce. The Hazelton Mountains are to the east, and the Kitimat Ranges of the Coast Mountains are to the west.
The Kitsumkalum and Kitselas, who have inhabited the area for about 6,000 years, traded with other villages along the Skeena. From the 1780s, European and Russian fur traders passed through. From the mid-1800s, the forestry, mining and salmon resources drew new settlers. The Kitsumkaylum 1 reserve is immediately west of Kitsumkalum River. The Tsimshian word for Terrace is ganeexs (meaning "ladder" or "steps"), likely a reference to the stepped terraces of the surrounding landscape.
The first sternwheeler to attempt the Skeena was the Union in 1865, which transported supplies for the construction of the Collins Overland Telegraph line. Over the following decades, river traffic increased. Settlements and woodpile fuel stops developed along the riverbanks. In 1912, the only two sternwheelers remaining on the Skeena were the HBC Port Simpson and the chartered FW&S Inlander, which the Skeena segment of the railway made redundant that year. Inaugurated in 1970, the Riverboat Days festival held each summer acknowledges this steamboat heritage.
In 1892, Tom Thornhill was the first European settler in the area, establishing a homestead on what became Thornhill Creek and is remembered in the naming of Thornhill and the creek. Over the following decades, the Frank Bros Dairy, immediately west of the village, became the preeminent farm. Arriving in 1907, Edward (Ed) Eby established a settlement in the vicinity of present lower Frank St. The place was briefly called Forester before becoming Kitsumkalum. He built a small hotel and general store.
In late October 1910, the eastward advance of the GTP rail head from Prince Rupert reached the Kitsumkalum River. In 1911, the standard-design Plan 100‐152 (Bohi's Type E) station building was erected. The Terrace station serves Via Rail's Jasper – Prince Rupert train.
In 1920, a Terrace–Lakelse bus service began. By the early 1920s, wagon roads extended north to Kitsumkalum Lake, south to Lakelse Lake, west to Remo, and east to Copper River. Trails existed beyond these points. The highway grew east and west of Terrace over the following decades, the key event being the completion of the Prince Rupert–Prince George route in 1944.
Around 1907, the Braun's Island bridge was built. Prior to completion of the Kitsumkalum River rail bridge in late 1910, a ferry operator used a rope to pull a rowboat ferry at the crossing. In 1911, a road bridge was constructed.
Early settlers placed limited value on timber, believing agriculture was the future. Orchards of apples, pears, plums, cherries, and berries flourished. Various vegetables thrived, while much of the timber was burned as waste. Terrace possesses the most favourable climatic conditions for agriculture in the Prince Rupert hinterland.
The forest industry drove the development of Terrace. The small Lillesberg sawmill opened in 1908, burned down in 1909, and was not rebuilt. That year, George Little established a small mill in the area, which became a substantial operation in 1911, and was described as a large lumber mill in 1915.
In 1913, a constable was stationed during the GTP construction. That year, Knox Presbyterian Church and St. Matthews Anglican Church were also built and a co-op store established. In 1921, the legion hall was built. The next year, the liquor store opened and the co-op closed. In December 1927, Terrace was incorporated as a village.
In 1946, a surplus RCAF appliance became the first village fire truck. That year, a branch of the Royal Bank (RBC) opened. In 1949, Knox United Church burned down. In 1950, the rebuilt Knox United Church opened. In 1954, Charlie Adam built the then Tillicum Theatre in its present location.
The McColl Playhouse (former Zion Baptist Church) has housed the Terrace Little Theatre since 1953. The REM Lee Theatre and the Pacific Northwest Music Festival have hosted regional artists since 1955. The Kermodei Tourism Society (KTS) is the co-ordinator that promotes the development and marketing of tourism opportunities in Terrace and the surrounding region.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Terrace had a population of 12,017 living in 4,873 of its 5,200 total private dwellings, a change of 3.2% from its 2016 population of 11,643. With a land area of 57.33 km2 (22.14 sq mi), it had a population density of 209.6/km2 (542.9/sq mi) in 2021.
As of the 2021 census in the Terrace census agglomeration area, the panethnic breakdown is European (68.28%), Indigenous (25.76%), South Asian (3.29%), East Asian (1.02%), Southeast Asian (1.07%), African (0.29%), Latin American (0.21%), and Middle Eastern (0.08%).
Being close to the Pacific Coast, Terrace has a continental climate (Köppen Dfb), closely bordering on an oceanic climate (Cfb) depending on the isotherm used. It has wet, cold winters (though much milder than inland places) and drier, warm summers, with an annual normal mean temperature of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F) varying between average temperature in January of −3.0 °C (26.6 °F) and in July 16.5 °C (61.7 °F).
