Happy B.C. Day Weekend!

  James Maddison Alden painted this watercolour looking down the Fraser River from the Hudson's Bay Company fort at Fort Langley. He was part of the British American Boundary Commission when he created the painting in 1860, two years after the colony of British Columbia was declared at the fort. You can just make out an Indigenous canoe, possibly Kwantlen, near a steamer on the far shore (the Kwantlen occupied a village directly across from the fort). The HBC had a strong trading relationship with the Kwantlen and other Coast Salish peoples; many employees married Indigenous women. This began to change with the decline of the fur trade, followed by a frenzied race for gold and the imposition of the reserve system. You can see the Golden Ears on the far left, and a small fire on the shoreline in the middle of the painting.  (Image: BC Archives) This image is [...]

2021-07-30T23:12:42+00:00July 30th, 2021|

Summer Newsletter in the Mail

In this issue, read about the first multi-taskers: railway station agents. Also: the Bays Blackhall Memorial scholarship winner, Langley Heritage Society sponsorship at Salishan Place and news from the Fort Langley CN Station. Read a digital copy HERE. LHS members also receive copies in the mail.

2021-07-28T06:10:17+00:00July 28th, 2021|

Hudson’s Bay Company Cemetery

Above photo: Commemorative cairn and memorial garden at St George's Church in Fort Langley.  The Hudson's Bay Company Cemetery is located on the grounds of present day St George's Church in Fort Langley. (It's also included on our Fort Langley Walking Tour HERE). This was the Company's second cemetery, the first was established at Derby where the original fort was built in 1827. Only a few markers remain at the St George's site, but ground-penetrating radar indicates at least 24 burial sites, and possibly more. This is the final resting place of many from the fur trade era: Britons, French Canadians, Metis, Sto:lo, Iroquois and Kanaka peoples. Among them is Katrina, a high ranking Kwantlen wife of Peppeoh (Pion Pion), a Kanaka employee of HBC. The cross on the Anglican Church is in Katrina's memory, and is a Roman Catholic symbol of the Oblates. Read more in historian Warren Sommer's [...]

2021-07-15T04:18:06+00:00July 15th, 2021|

Hall Rentals

  With easing of pandemic restrictions we are receiving numerous requests to rent community halls in the Langley area. FYI: our Society does not manage or rent out these buildings, but we have prepared a contact list HERE.

2021-07-28T06:11:44+00:00July 11th, 2021|

New Roof at Wark/Dumais House!

Langley Heritage Society manages and invests in nine buildings restored over the last 40 years. The classic Wark/Dumais House (1890), located on the campus of Kwantlen Polytechnic University, is now getting a new roof. The house was built by Langley's first reeve (mayor), Robert James Wark and later expanded by the Dumais family who ran a successful dairy operation. For more on the history of this beautiful home, visit HERE. Thanks to Shawn Feddes for the photos. (Last summer a new roof was put on the CNR Station in Fort Langley.)

2021-07-10T01:56:23+00:00July 10th, 2021|

LHS Sponsors Classroom Spaces at new Museum

Langley Heritage Society presents a cheque for $60,000 to Langley Township Mayor Jack Froese to equip student spaces at the new Salishan Place. Pictured left to right: LHS directors Shawn Feddes, Tom Annandale, Ellie Bosch, Mark Forsythe, and president Fred Pepin   The site is cleared and shovels are in the ground as construction begins on a new museum and cultural centre complex in Fort Langley.  Salishan Place By The River is a partnership between the Township of Langley and Kwantlen First Nation, in collaboration with the Katzie, Matsqui and Semiahmoo First Nations, Waceya Metis Society and the Lower Fraser Valley Aboriginal Society.  This is an exciting project that the Langley Heritage Society has supported through its many stages, and we are now contributing $60,000 to equip and furnish two classrooms. This will enhance the Society’s ongoing sponsorship of school programs and provide a creative and comfortable environment for [...]

2021-07-09T01:22:26+00:00July 7th, 2021|

Down at the Station

A July summer's eve at the CN Station in Fort Langley. Built in 1915, it was restored by the Langley Heritage Society and continues to be one of Fort Langley's most popular heritage locations.  

2021-07-07T04:41:33+00:00July 7th, 2021|

Fort Langley Walking Tour

Soak up local history through the soles of your feet! We've updated our Fort Langley Walking Tour brochure which will be available in the village soon. You can also access the PDF version here on our website. Follow the link HERE.  We're thankful for the beautiful images shared with us by artist Brian Croft.

2021-07-05T15:13:26+00:00July 5th, 2021|

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