Editing Murree (section)

==History==
[[File:KITLV A690 - Holy Trinity Church te Murree bij Islamabad in Brits-India, KITLV 100822.tif|thumb|Murree in 1870]]
Murree or ''Marhee'' also spelt ''Marhi'' which means high place,<ref>{{cite dictionary |last=Heath |first1=John E. |author-link=John Everett-Heath |url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199580897.001.0001/acref-9780199580897-e-5014?rskey=EswHaH&result=5671&q= |title=Murree |dictionary=Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2012 |edition=2nd |access-date=16 October 2021}}</ref> as it was then called, was first identified as a potential hill station by Major [[James Abbott (Indian Army officer)|James Abbott]] in 1847.{{efn|name="abott"}}

The town's early development was in 1851 by the President of the Punjab Administrative Board, [[Henry Lawrence (Indian Army officer)|Sir Henry Lawrence]].{{efn|name="abott"|The earliest British discovery of Murree, like many of the adjacent hill resorts in the [[Galyat]] range of the [[Hazara region|Hazara]] region, was first made by Major [[James Abbott (Indian Army officer)|James Abbott]] in 1847. Please see [[Charles Allen (writer)|Charles Allen]] ''Soldier Sahibs: The Men who made the North West Frontier'' London: Abacus Books, 2001 p. 141, {{ISBN|0-349-11456-0}}; and ''Journals of Honoria Lawrence'' eds. J. Lawrence and A. Widdiwis, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980 edition. For an account of Abbott's early time in Hazara and the founding of [[Abbottabad]], see Omer Tarin and SD Najumddin, "Five Early Military Graves in the Old Christian Cemetery, Abbottabad, Pakistan, 1853–1888", in ''The Kipling Journal'' (ISSN 0023-1738) Vol 84, No 339, p.35-52}} It was originally established as a [[sanatorium]] for British troops garrisoned on the Afghan frontier.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}} Officially, the municipality was created in 1850.{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}

The permanent town of Murree was constructed at Sunnybank in 1853. The church was sanctified in May 1857, and the main road, Jinnah Road, originally known as Mall Road and still commonly referred to as "The Mall"), was built. The most significant commercial establishments, the Post Office, general merchants with European goods, tailors and a millinery, were established opposite the church. Until 1947, access to Mall Road was restricted for "natives" (non-Europeans).

In the summer of 1857, a rebellion against the British broke out. The local tribes of Murree and [[Hazara region|Hazara]], including the [[Dhund Abbasis]] and others, attacked the depleted British Army garrison in Murree; however, the tribes were ultimately overcome by the British and capitulated.{{sfnp|Lee|2001}} From 1873 to 1875, Murree was the summer headquarters of the Punjab local government;{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}{{sfn|Kennedy|1996|p=166}} after 1876 the headquarters were moved to [[Shimla]].{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}

The railway connection with [[Lahore]], the capital of the Punjab Province, via Rawalpindi, made Murree a popular resort for Punjab officials, and the villas and other houses erected for the accommodation of English families gave it a European aspect. The houses crowned the summit and sides of an irregular ridge, the neighboring hills were covered during the summer with encampments of British troops, while the station itself was filled with European visitors from the plains and travelers to Kashmir. It was connected with Rawalpindi by a service [[Tanga (carriage)|tangas]].{{sfnp|Imperial Gazetteer of India|1909}}

It was described in the ''[[Rawalpindi Gazetteer|Gazetteer of Rawalpindi District]]'', 1893–94 as follows:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131110171351/http://www.harappa.com/engr/murree1.html Murree, in the Punjaub, 1863]</ref><ref>Gazetteer of Rawalpindi District, 1893–94. Page 262, Chapter. VI - TOWNS, MUNICIPALITIES AND CANTOMENTS</ref>

<blockquote>The sanatorium of Murree lies in north latitude 33° 54′ 30″ and east longitude 73° 26′ 30″, at an elevation of {{Convert|7517|ft|m}} above sea level, and contained a standing population of 1,768 inhabitants, which was, however, enormously increased during the [May–November] season by the influx of visitors and their attendant servants and shopkeepers. It is the most accessible hill station in the Punjab, being distant from Rawalpindi only a five hours' journey by tonga dak. Magnificent views are to be obtained in the spring and autumn of the snow crowned mountains of Kashmir; and gorgeous sunset and cloud effects seen daily during the rains [July–August]. Part of the station, especially the Kashmir end, are also well wooded and pretty.</blockquote>

In 1901, the permanent population of the town was 1,844; if summer visitors had been included this could have been as high as 10,000.{{sfnp|Chisholm|1911}}

In early January 2022, [[2022 Murree snowstorm|over 20 people died]] trying to reach the town during a [[snowstorm]].