The Ballad of Billy Brown

  Langley Heritage Society member Tom Hammel is a talented songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. "The Ballad of Billy Brown" is his new song about one of Fort Langley's most legendary characters. Billy Brown built houses (including Haldi House), scrambled to move the Towle Commercial Hotel with teams of horses, and signed up with the Canadian forces during the Great War. Tom says,  "The street I live on is named after him, so I got curious about who he was!"   Watch and listen  HERE.

2022-01-28T18:05:22+00:00January 28th, 2022|

Have a Yearbook to Share?

The BC Genealogical Society is on the hunt for yearbooks. See below.  The Langley Heritage Society is an affiliate member of the BCGS and our members can attend various informative chats via Zoom. (For our affiliate number contact: [email protected]) See the schedule of chats and workshops HERE.  

2022-01-15T18:35:39+00:00January 15th, 2022|

Fort Langley’s First Community Centre

Above photo: Frank Leonard, 1924, from Vancouver Public Library collection. Thanks to Trinity Western University student Sophia Kutney who shared her paper on the Fort Langley CNR Station. This has been edited for length. In the heart of Fort Langley, the earliest agricultural centre in British Columbia and the first permanent European settlement in the Fraser Valley, lies a 107 year old train station that represents the visionary expansion of travel opportunities and the importation and exportation of freight around Canada and within Langley. While this train station underwent many transitions since 1915, being owned first by Canadian Northern Railway, and secondly Canadian Government Railway for a half year, and finally the Canadian National Railway in 1918, the train station remained a central place of opportunity for the Langley community. The CNR Station was run by the Station Agent who lived on site with his family on the upper floor, constantly [...]

2022-01-10T20:42:34+00:00January 10th, 2022|

Modern Travel, 1927 style

This was the height of technology and luxury for Canadian travellers in 1927. A cross-country film was shot two years earlier aboard CPR trains that has recently been colourized. It's a fascinating glimpse of Canada from coast-to-coast almost 100 years ago, including some marvellous scenes on this side of the Rockies. Have a look HERE.

2022-01-06T20:55:09+00:00January 6th, 2022|

Happy New Year!

It has been looking very wintery at the Fort Langley CNR Station lately. Please be careful walking on the station platform. Here's hoping 2022 will be a better year so that we can open the station, caboose and railcar for public visits. Stay safe!

2022-01-06T20:40:34+00:00January 6th, 2022|

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