Loucks Legacy

Sometimes we receive questions about the story behind the houses that Langley Heritage Society has helped restore. We received a query from Kamloops about the Loucks Family home on 0 Avenue. Fortunately LHS member, the late Maureen Pepin, prepared a profile. “William Markley Loucks was born in Ontario in 1865 and settled in Langley about 1908 after working in Atlin, B.C. and trying his luck in the Yukon gold fields. He and his wife, Wilhelmina (Minnie) Pillath, were married in 1907 and after the birth of their first son, Frederick Williams, bought a property on Zero Avenue between 272nd and 276th Streets where they lived in a log cabin while their larger house was built on the hill. The house is particularly noted for its curved wraparound verandah with turned columns and decorative newel posts as well as the wonderful view looking south over the U.S. border. Their farm was [...]

2024-11-27T07:02:01+00:00November 27th, 2024|

Cornock House

The Cornock home in Glen Valley is a beautiful farmhouse built by John and Eliza Cornock in 1905. They lived in a log cabin on the property with four children until the house was completed (they would later have another child).  John was born in Erin, Ontario in 1853 and his wife Eliza nee Sawyers also came from the province.  John first came to BC in 1880 to farm on a quarter section (160 acres) at Glenn Valley; he returned to Ontario after his father's death in 1885, and later returned with his young family to BC. In 1924 the family donated land for the second Glen Valley School, which closed in 1935. Students were then bussed to Fort Langley schools. The two storey home has a cross gable roof, a second floor porch to the south, and a wraparound veranda to the south and east. Today it's owned by [...]

2025-05-07T15:26:59+00:00November 27th, 2024|

From Heritage Tree to Memorial Bench

When the Great War finally ended, local veterans including Dr Benjamin Marr and Archie Payne decided to honour the fallen by planting trees, changing street names and building cenotaphs at Murrayville and Fort Langley. The sacrifice of William Arthur Wilson, a Fort Langley farmer who was killed at Passchendaele by a sniper’s bullet, was commemorated with the planting of an Oregon maple tree at the corner of Glover Road and 96th Avenue. One hundred years later these maple trees had started to die and many were cut down; hardier sugar maples were then planted at these commemorative sites. In the case of W.A. Wilson’s tree, the Langley Heritage Society’s Fred Pepin milled wood from the old maple to create sturdy planks. They were transformed into a bench by carpenter Kevin Terpstra and that bench now rests in front of Heritage Manor bearing his name. Lest we forget.

2024-11-27T04:19:37+00:00November 27th, 2024|

Paddle Into the Future: McMillan Expedition

McMillan Expedition Journal It was 200 years ago in 1824 that a band of 41 men journeyed from the Columbia River to the Fraser River and back. They left Fort George (Astoria, Oregon) on November 18th in three canoe-shaped Columbia River boats, led by Scotsman and Hudson’s Bay Company employee, James McMillan. Their mission: find a suitable location for a new HBC fort north of the Columbia on the Fraser River. They were running out of beaver; this was also following the Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804 - 1806) and Americans were settling in the region. It was getting crowded. Most members of the expedition were French Voyageurs, but there were Iroquois, Kanakas, Englishman, American and Metis, including Francis Noel Annance, a clerk with the HBC, who kept a journal.  Three days into the journey he writes: “Again a most fearful storm of thunder, rain and lightning! The ground groaned [...]

2024-11-27T06:05:48+00:00November 27th, 2024|

Douglas Day 2024

It was a wonderful gathering for our annual Douglas Day Dinner to honour one of BC's most important historical figures, Sir James Douglas. Among other things, he headed the HBC in BC, wore a separate hat as a colonial governor and guided BC through the chaotic gold rush era. He also declared the colony of British Columbia at Fort Langley in 1858. Douglas was of mixed race and married a Métis woman, Amelia Connolly, and six of their thirteen children survived to adulthood. We learned much about Métis trading and cultural history from Tom Long of the new Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Language. Métis are distinct Indigenous peoples in Canada, and the sash Tom wears represents the mix of cultural backgrounds -- woven by multi-coloured threads to form one whole. Learn more about the work of this organization HERE. Thanks to Glenn Disney for sharing these photos [...]

2024-11-25T23:42:40+00:00November 25th, 2024|

Douglas Day Dinner

Friday November 22nd the Langley Heritage Society will host its annual Douglas Day dinner to honour the legacy of one of British Columbia’s most important historical figures, Sir James Douglas. This year's guest speaker is Thomas Long, manager of the new Amelia Douglas Institute. Some themes he'll discuss include: Who are the Métis? When and why did they come across the mountains to the Pacific Northwest? Hear the histories of James Sinclair and Amelia Douglas, 19th Century Métis in early B.C. and find out about the new Amelia Douglas Institute for Métis Culture and Language, located in Surrey. LHS members please note this event is being held at a new location, the Fort Langley Lions Hall on 88th Avenue. Doors open after 5 pm.

2024-11-16T23:50:55+00:00November 16th, 2024|

McMillan Expedition Bicentennial

This fall marks the bicentennial of the James McMillan expedition that ventured north from Fort George (Astoria, Oregon) to survey a site for a new Pacific Coast headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company. This gruelling fall expedition included 40 men who were aboard flat-bottomed Columbia River Boats that were sometimes dragged along the shoreline or across portages (most crew members were Voyageurs). This expedition led to the establishment of Fort Langley at Derby Reach in 1827 and trading began with the local Indigenous peoples -- British Columbia was declared some three decades later in 1858. The Living Arts Society is commemorating this event with talks at the Timms Centre in Langley City and reenactments at Portage Park on December 14th. More HERE. Created with GIMP

2024-11-21T17:21:33+00:00November 14th, 2024|

A Lost Son

Ian Matheson was the son of Milner dairy farmers, George and Caroline Matheson. He attended Langley High School, and loved football, badminton, baseball and softball. In May 1941 he signed up with the R.C.A.F. at age 19. The official evaluation described Ian as “confident, mature for his age and pleasant”; his intelligence was “quick” and “organized”. Prior to enlistment he was studying aviation and aircraft construction by correspondence course. “A fine husky lad, brought up in the country on a farm. He is definitely superior type. Keen on aviation and wants to fly. Courteous, mentally alert, observant and very good pilot material. Strongly recommend as above average.” By December 1941 Ian had earned his wings. He was commissioned as a pilot officer, and during his first day of training to be a flight instructor, his Harvard aircraft crashed near Aylmer, Ontario. Flying officer D. Palmer of Saskatoon also perished in [...]

2024-11-05T21:00:42+00:00November 5th, 2024|

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