With everyone talking about the high cost of real estate today, we had a look at some of the historical questions we have received concerning early sales of land and buildings.
In the early years of New Westminster and the lower Fraser Valley, properties and businesses frequently changed hands as new owners came in and homesteaders and others moved out. Some interesting examples come from the 1860s and ’70s.
Near the confluence of the Fraser and Pitt rivers, in the area referred to as Katzie, a 310-acre farm was offered for sale. It included a house, barn and 40 head of livestock as well as, the advertisement noted, “a cheese and butter plant complete.” It also indicated you could buy the livestock separately and rent the farm.
In the area known as Langley Prairie, we noted two large farms for sale. One was 300 acres in size, all fenced with 40 acres under cultivation. This property had the finest quality soil and came with an option on the livestock and farm implements. It was described as being “on the new wagon road between New Westminster and Yale in the centre of a flourishing settlement.”
The other Langley Prairie land advertised was slightly larger than the previous one. It was known as the “Spring View Farm” and was “of the best land of the Province.” The position of the farm and the river was pointed out as it was 60 feet above the high-water mark. “Spring View Farm” was about 13 miles from the city and “within convenient distance of the Langley township.”
A much smaller farm, referred to as “Rosehill,” had about 45 acres under cultivation and included a house and full set of farm buildings. This was being offered by private sale and was reported to be within one mile of New Westminster, but nothing more definitive is given for location.
Under the heading of “A Rare Chance,” well-known pioneer Ovid Allard’s name was on a farm sale ad that promoted “a splendid farm containing 160 acres situated on the left bank of the Fraser River near Fort Langley and within easy distance of New Westminster.”
These properties were all noted in the years 1872 and 1876 and there would have been many others. It would be incredibly interesting to know their histories, family connections and even current situations and locations.
In the mid-1860s, a salmon fishery operation was for sale across the river from New Westminster offered by the well-known William Epps Cormack. In this operation, there were buildings and materials such as a cooperage, curing house, barrel storage room, a wharf, a residence, accommodation building for 16 men, a variety of nets, cordage and twine, four large vats, 1000 barrels, 16 tons of salt, and even more was listed. Unfortunately, we don’t know the prices for this or the farms, but the story possibilities are intriguing.
