which was a divisional point. The initial depot, called Lillooet station, was westward across the Fraser. In 1930, PGE built the Lillooet Diversion from the head of Seton Lake, through the downtown, and north to the Polley bridge. In 1931, PGE completed the bridge, built a new two-storey station downtown, and dismantled and reassembled the roundhouse nearby. The latter was demolished during the early 1970s. The Lillooet station building, which was replaced in 1986, was east of Craig ( east of Retakit after Craig closed) and south of Polley ( south of Fountain after Polley closed). The withdrawal of the Cariboo Prospector passenger train in October 2002 ended through service. Canadian National Railway freight trains on break and the Kaoham Shuttle still use the station. Early community The town began as a goldrush centre in the late 1850s, booming during the progression of discoveries on the Fraser and in the Cariboo in the early 1860s. The title of "the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco" moved in rapid succession from Yale to Lillooet, and then to Barkerville. Just after this gold rush, the town's layout was surveyed by the Royal Engineers. In 1860, the population was 4,000–5,000. About that time, Richard Hoey was granted on the Texas Creek Road. St. Mary the Virgin Anglican church was built in 1861 and a school established in 1863. That year, the hotels and shops served a population of about 1,600. The Stage Hotel (1860) was considered first class. The Pioneer Hotel (1862) became the Excelsior in the early 1900s. Further lodgings were the International Hotel (1866) and Victoria Hotel (1892). In 1864, Joseph Watkinson, Thomas Harris, F.W. Foster, and Richard Hoey built the first flour mill. In 1896, St. Andrews Presbyterian church was erected. In 1904, the town was surveyed. The 1930 fire destroyed the Excelsior, Hurley's Grocery, a movie theatre and the government liquor store. In 1946, the settlement incorporated as a village municipality. In 1948, fire destroyed the Log Cabin Theatre, an 1860s livery barn that had been remodelled into theatre in 1934. Booms occurred during local gold mining activity, and in the 1940s and 50s during the construction of the Bridge River Power Project. In 1996, the town re-incorporated as a district municipality. Forestry and agriculture The economy was historically based upon logging, the railway, ranching, farming, and government services. The long growing season has favoured