Signals. In 1928, Fort Smith Airport was built. The discovery of gold in Yellowknife in 1938 also represented an economic boost to Fort Smith as many prospectors came passing through. In the same year, an Anglican Mission house was built and a church was added in 1939. In 1942–1943, Fort Smith played its own small part in the war effort when huge armies raged across the globe in the Second World War. With a population of 250, Fort Smith hosted 2,000 United States Army soldiers who were en route to the Canol Oil Pipeline Project at Norman Wells and the Canol Road. They brought hundreds of barge loads of supplies; and in order to move these, they built a tractor road from Fort Smith to Hay River and even farther north. The continued gold fever that fuelled Yellowknife's growth also allowed Fort Smith's population to grow five-fold in the decade following 1945. This was reflected in the increase in government administrative facilities and the growth of its role as a transportation hub for the Mackenzie District. Fort Smith was incorporated as a village in 1964; two years later, with a population of 2,130, the village became a town on October 1, 1966. The all-weather road to Hay River was officially completed in 1966 as well, permanently linking Fort Smith to the south. The completion of a southern rail link to Hay River in 1964 meant that Fort Smith's role as the transportation hub was largely negated; and, subsequently, shipping operations on the Slave River ceased in 1968. When Yellowknife became the territorial capital in 1967, Fort Smith still remained the administrative centre of the government of the Northwest Territories' vast region. See history of Northwest Territories capital cities. On Friday August 9, 1968, disaster struck Fort Smith when a landslide some broke away from the riverbank causing property damage and killing one person. The riverbank area has since been sloped to stabilize it; and now the gentle hillside is known as the Riverbank Park, complete with groomed trails, picnic areas, and a viewing platform where one can see the Rapids of the Drowned. In 1970, the Adult Vocational Training Centre was opened. Its operations were later expanded and in 1981 it became Thebacha College. A few years later, Arctic College was created by the government of the Northwest Territories and the Thebacha Campus was also home to the headquarters offices.