Edmonton's History
The earliest known inhabitants in modern-day Edmonton date back to 3,000 BC, possibly even 10,000 BC, at the end of the last age.
It is believed that Anthony Henday, an explorer for the Hudson Bay's Company, was the first European to set foot in Edmonton, in 1754. Forty-one years later, Fort Edmonton became a major trading location for the said company.
By the late 19th century, Edmonton had developed into an important centre for agriculture and trade. It also drew popularity during the Klondike Gold rush in 1897.
Just as the city started recovering from a significant decline in population due to high real estate prices and World War I, Blatchford Field, the first airfield in Canada and presently the Edmonton City Centre Airport, was opened in 1929. This base became an important distributor of mail, food, and medicine for Northern Canada, and had a lot to do with Edmonton's nickname, "Gateway to the North".
In the forties, the oil boom began. Edmonton quickly became the Oil Capital of Canada. After the worldwide crisis starting in the 1970s, the land fully recovered by at the turn of the 21st century and has managed to diversify its industries.