Douglas Day Dinner: Friday Nov 21st

  The annual Douglas Day Dinner is scheduled for Friday November 21st at the Fort Langley Community Hall. Members, book your ticket now for an excellent meal and conversation by contacting Dave Buckley at [email protected] or calling 778-899-2209. Our society helped prepare new signs at Douglas Park in Langley City to acknowledge the legacy and contributions of Sir James Douglas, HBC fur trader and first governor of British Columbia with a multicultural vision ahead of his time. Pierce Smith, one of our directors and curator at the Fort Langley National Historic Site will share stories and artifacts that connect Sir James Douglas with the Birthplace of BC.    

2025-11-16T00:13:28+00:00November 16th, 2025|

The Legacy of James Douglas

James Douglas is regarded as one of the most important figures in the development of modern day British Columbia. His contributions as the first governor are acknowledged each year during Douglas Day, but his mixed Barbadian-Creole/Scottish heritage is often overlooked. Douglas married a Cree woman, forged relationships with Indigenous peoples, and invited Blacks in the US to join the 1858 Gold Rush. Hear new insights into his legacy and that of the many Blacks who came here during a talk by Yasin Kirago Misago of the African Descent Society on Wednesday November 16th at 7 pm. If you’d like to join this Zoom talk, contact [email protected].

2022-11-08T21:36:27+00:00November 4th, 2022|

James Douglas Descendants

The family story below is by Cynthia Fleming, great-great granddaughter of Sir James Douglas (Cynthia is pictured on the right with her sister Gloria Bushby at the National Historic Site in Fort Langley). This story was originally published in The Trail of 1858 (Mark Forsythe & Greg Dickson). "The Father of British Columbia' is acknowledged each year on or near Douglas Day (November 19th) by the Langley Heritage Society with a special dinner and guest speaker. “I was born in San Fernando, Chile, on November 18, 1939 and lived in Chile for the first 10 years of my life. My dad was John Sinclair Bushby. His mother, Violet Bushby (born in England), the widow of George Bushby, visited Chile shortly after I was born and stayed with us until we moved back to British Columbia in the summer of 1950. My grandfather, George Bushby was the son of Arthur Bushby and Agnes Douglas, daughter [...]

2024-11-22T05:03:40+00:00October 31st, 2018|

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