December 2024 marks the bicentennial of the McMillan Expedition that searched out the site for Fort Langley, built three years later at Derby. The Livings Arts Society took to the river with the Fort Langley Canoe Club to recreate the Voyageurs’ journey from Astoria, Oregon (Fort George) to the Fraser River. Most of the original Hudson’s Bay Company paddlers were Voyageurs joined by Indigenous peoples.
Songs, readings from expedition journals and a brisk paddle on the Bedford Channel beside McMillan Island, (home to the Kwantlen people who first traded with the HBC) made for a memorable day. The Langley Heritage Society was one of the sponsors of this event which included presentations from BC and Washington State historians. Read more about the expedition HERE.
