[Wikipedia] April 17: Dawson Creek, British Columbia

  Dawson Creek is a small city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.  
  It covers an area of 20.66 square kilometres (8 sq mi) with a 2006 
  population of 11,615 people.  Dubbed "The Capital of the Peace", it is 
  a service centre for the rural areas south of the Peace River and the 
  seat of the Peace River Regional District.  Dawson Creek turned from a 
  small farming community to a regional centre when the western terminus 
  of the Northern Alberta Railways was extended there in 1932, and the 
  US Army used that terminus as a transshipment point in 1942 during the 
  construction of the Alaska Highway.  Most of the city's development 
  occurred between 1942 and 1966 when highways and railways were built 
  connecting the farming area of the Peace River Country to the rest of 
  BC through Dawson Creek.  Dawson Creek derived its name from the creek 
  of the same name that runs through the city.  The creek was named after 
  George Mercer Dawson by a member of his land survey team when they 
  passed through the area in August 1879.  The city, at the southern end 
  of the Alaska Highway, is known as the "Mile 0 City" and is also home 
  to a regional fall fair and heritage interpretation village.  

Read the rest of this article:
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawson_Creek%2C_British_Columbia

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Today's selected anniversaries:

1797:
  French Revolutionary Wars: British Lieutenant General Ralph 
  Abercromby and a force of over 6,000 men invaded Spanish-controlled 
  Puerto Rico.  
  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Juan_%281797%29)