As you walk around the downtown core of Hay River, or drive through Old Town and the West Channel, you'll see some special signs, designed and built locally and erected at the behest of the Tourism Advisory Committee and the Town of Hay River.

These are part of a proposed plaque and sign program, which will designate places and spots of special interest for residents and visitors alike. The brief description or history on each sign identifies the object, building or site and indicates why it is of particular interest.

If you examine the signs carefully, you will note two different motifs, both relating to the uses of our most abundant natural resource - water. One design shows an NTCL tug, the other a fishing boat.

The logo on the upper corner is that of the Town of Hay River or a portion thereof. The arrow points North, the ship, jet, train and truck indicate our ties to the water systems, the H in the Centre shows Hay River as the 'Hub of the North' and the broken, pointed part of the outer circle line indicates the Northern Lights.

Centennial Library, Woodland Drive. Built in 1967 of local stone and original home of NWT Library Headquarters (these offices are now located in the Wright Centre), this is an important and much-used facility of the community. See Local Maps. See Hay River Centenniel Library Web Site.

Inukshuk, Town property, Woodland Drive. Though it may seem out of place in the boreal forest, this stone symbol was built in 1978 when the Arctic Winter Games were hosted by Hay River and Pine Point. The Inukshuk is an Inuit marker/symbol and its use dates back thousands of years. This Inukshuk reminds all of us of the huge land we belong to and the other aboriginal people who are part of our whole, the Inuit. See Local Maps.

Diamond Jenness Secondary School, Woodland Drive corner within the playing field. DJSS was designed by architect Douglas Cardinal, built in 1971 and painted purple at the choice of the students of the day. It is named in honour of western arctic explorer Diamond Jenness. Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, just off Highway 2, on turn across railway track. See Local Maps.

Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation handles the fishermen's catch from Great Slave Lake, preparing the fish for shipment south to Winnipeg and markets across Canada and into the United States. The plant was built in the late 1960s. See Local Maps.

Porritt Landing, Highway 2, Vale Island. A Yorkshireman, Bobby Porritt was a long-time trader in the South Slave area and one of the first elected members of the NWT Council (forerunner of the Legislative Assembly). He had planned to turn his property on this piece of snye into a marina prior to his death; the launch area has been developed over the past ten years and is well used. See Map.

Old Administration Building, Highway 2, Vale Island, opposite old Hay River Hotel. This building sat in what was known as 'Government Row' when the settlements on Vale Island and the east bank comprised Hay River, before the 1963 flood. This is an example of federal government housing of the period; it housed the first Town of Hay River offices. See Local Maps.

Hudson Bay Store, Mackenzie Drive, Vale Island. Now painted a bright rose pink, this was the Hudson Bay Store for many years in Hay River, serving the community both as a grocery, dry goods, hardware and fur trading post. It was built in 1948-49. NTCL acquired the property for warehousing purposes and gave it the new coat of paint.

NTCL Synchrolift, Mackenzie Drive, Vale Island, by gate to property. The huge building ahead is the maintenance hangar of Northern Transportation's shipyard. Beyond it lies the synchrolift, a sort of electrical lock-and-lift system which allows the huge tugs and barges to be floated out of the water and moved about by tracks and dollies for repair or storage. See Local Maps.

Old St. Andrew's Church, Highway 2, Vale Island. This private residence was built in 1955 and was the new Anglican Church, built then to serve a growing population. A new church was built in New Town by 1965, and this building then served until 1979 as the Thrift Shop, operated by St. Andrew's congregation. When the new Thrift Shop opened, the building was sold as a private residence. See Local Maps.

Old Beach Pumphouse, Highway 2, Vale Island. As the New Town was built, it was decided a piped water system would be part of the infrastructure. From this small building, an intake pipe goes three miles out into the lake and is piped eastwards around the outskirts of Vale Island, along the highway to New Town. Although the new water treatment plant, on the west side of the West Channel has been in operation since the late 1970's, this plant is still operated. See Local Maps.

Old Fire Hall, West Channel, Vale Island. This little building, now owned by the West Channel fishermen's Heritage Committee and housing their collection of artifacts and memorabilia, was the original Fire Hall at West Channel, and was first established in 1958. It served this part of the Hay River community for many years, in con junction with the old fire hall in the Old Town section, which was replaced about nine years ago with the new one now in operation. See Local Maps.

We hope this information will help you identify the various sites and explain a little more of our history.