The Pre-Emption Act in 1860 prompted the development of extremely fertile land on the delta of what is now known as the Fraser Valley. This included an area of 350,000 acres that became the districts of Port Mann, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley, Mission, Agassiz and Chilliwack. Before long the farmers in these areas were lobbying the government for a road leading to New Westminster where they could market their produce. As early as 1861 the government let a contract to a Joseph Girard to build a trail along the south side of the river from New Westminster east, through the Fraser Valley toward Yale, the northern terminus of the Fraser River steamboats. The contract only went part of the way and after that, the trail was built in bits and pieces. By 1865 the trail had been widened to become a wagon roadknown as the Yale Road, which served not only as an access for farm produce and freight, but also for travelers on their way to the gold rush in the interior. This was the start of theGold Rush Trail. Vancouver boomed during the 1920's and a second road, known as the Fraser Highway was built through the Fraser Valley to Hope. Parts of the Old Yale Road still remain today at the Murrayville's Five Corners. Paved with concrete in the 1930's, this piece is still in use.
New Westminster, early view in the 1860s. Credit B.C. Archives #A-03330
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All text and images © Quesnel & District
Museum and Archives unless otherwise noted. Thanks to the B.C. Archives
for permission to show various images. Thanks to the BC Encyclopedia
for permission to quote information on the roadhouse communities.
Thanks to the Living Landscapes Project, the Royal British Columbia
Museum, Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services for
their support of site development.
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