Do you enjoy maps? Do you pore over a map prior to a trip? Do you love viewing old maps to see where roads or trails used to be and then go looking for what remains of those past features?
There is a difference of opinion on this topic but personally, we would say yes to all these questions.
An early survey map of the Fraser River shows the river from its mouth to the Fort Langley area.
This fascinating chart was prepared in 1859/60 by the officers and crew of HMS Plumper and shows how the river has evolved. This has always been a favourite map to use in the telling of our local story.
Many years ago we acquired a series of maps and surveys of the Fraser Valley and Canyon that were put together by the Royal Engineers while they were active in the colony. We spent many delightful days following the old maps, comparing them to present day versions to see what roads remain from the past. We located lots of bits and pieces from Surrey to Rosedale.
On other occasions using the same early maps, we explored the Fraser Canyon noting the "Engineers' Road" and the places where it used to go.
The area around Alexandria Bridge, not far from Yale, was a wonderful gold mine of historical reminders. Other places we followed in much the same manner were the old pack trails and more "Engineers' Road" following the Provincial Highway through Manning Park as well as the Skihist campground area overlooking the Thompson River near Lytton.
In the Cariboo, early maps provide eye-opening personal adventures in seeking out the historical landmarks over the mountains south of Barkerville with sites near the Quesnel River.
Places like Quesnelle Forks, Likely, and Antler Creek, and the very early trails that connected them, are immensely exciting to seek out and explore, again, all possible by reviewing and understanding some old maps.
Early maps of the Royal City, including some fire insurance pages, offer a very wide array of information. The Royal Engineers' surveying notes point out where the survey points were to be, how the markers were set - a stake, a stump, or a pile of rock. Many people today have visited the Royal Engineers' survey marker, resurveyed and set a number of years ago near the corner of Columbia Street at Richmond Street.
If you enjoy maps as we do, then you will want to come out to the Historical Society meeting at the New Westminster Public Library auditorium on Wednesday, Nov. 21, starting at 7: 30 p.m.
Guest speaker Derek Hayes, one of our finest historians, who is great at using maps to tell a story, will talk about his new book, British Columbia: A New Historical Atlas. Hayes is a master at his craft and has many map books to his name, so this will be a very entertaining talk.
