Since annexation the history of the district has been one of steady progress. The improvement of communications by the construction of the Grand Trunk Road in the early days of British rule of the North-Western Railway in 1871-74 of the branch line from Wazirabad to Sialkot in 1885, has opened up new markets brought it into touch with the great centres of trade, and thereby given a great stimulus to the growth of agricultural produce. The opening up of the great tracts of Government and village waste in the Hafizabad Tehsil by the Chenab Canal, which began to work in 1888, proved a more potent factor in promoting the prosperity of the district, and brought some 150,000 acres of waste land under cultivation.
There are famous names of Deputy Commissioners in the British Era associated with Gujranwala district. Of these, the names which are still fresh in the minds of the people are those of Major Clarke, who held charge for about five years from 1851 to 1856, and helped to compose the troubles that followed on the second Sikh war, and settle the people in the soil, and Mr. A. Brandreth, whose name is cherished by high and low for his benevolence and broad sympathies, as well as for the many material improvements he effected in sinking tanks and wells, establishing schools, opening out new roads, and generally contributing to the welfare of the district. Major Babbage and Mr. A. E. Bulman, both of whom were attached to the district for a considerable period, are also remembered for their knowledge of the people and interest in their welfare. With the above exceptions, no British officer remained long enough in the district to leave their mark on it. Indeed, the district has been particularly unfortunate, especially in the frequent changes of officers which not only prevent the people knowing their officers and the officers knowing their people, but have retarded the progress of the many schemes of utility which have been started by one Deputy Commissioner but lost sight of or pushed on in a lukewarm manner by his successors. Now that the district is one of the most densely populated areas of the country and being an industrial hub, it has become a more important one from an administrative point of view and it will be impossible to work it properly unless the officers in charge are left there long enough to grasp all the details of the work, and understand and take an interest in the people