South Kamloops covers the entire downtown core and smaller neighbourhoods east and west of the downtown core. The name Kamloops refers to the flowing together of the north and south Thompson rivers named by the Secwepemc Indian Band or Shuswap people. The discovery of gold brought many adventurers into the region in the late 1850’s. Once B.C. became a part of Canada in 1871, Kamloops received their first trans continential railroad in 1886. The first South Thompson bridge was built in 1887, to be followed by one to North Kamloops in 1901. Kamloops was incorporated in 1893 with a population of less than 1,000 people. Numerous industries such as Royalite Refinery opened in 1955, Kamloops Pulp and Paper Mill (now Domtar) was established in 1964 and in 1977 Afton Mines and Smelter commenced operations. Kamloops is still a central hub, as it sits approximately halfway between Calgary, Vancouver, and the northern Cariboo-Chilcotin regions.