Three former company towns in the Tri-Cities are on Heritage BC’s new Industrial Heritage Map.
Fraser Mills, Maillardville and Ioco are listed on the inaugural chart that aims to shed light on the historical importance of 76 locales around the province.
Today, Sept. 11, Heritage BC executive director Kirstin Clausen told the Tri-City News her organization called for nominations from residents and groups for industrial sites that played pivotal roles in their communities’ economies over the years.
But, for the company towns section, Heritage BC staff researched and selected the places to provide a more fulsome picture of how industry shaped lives with employment opportunities and social connections.
Fraser Mills, in southern Coquitlam, was the largest sawmill in the British Empire around the turn of the 20th century. Currently, the Beedie Group is redeveloping its 91 acres into a waterfront community with homes for more than 10,000 people plus a school, community centre, parks and retail.
Many of Fraser Mills’ workers lived in Maillardville, a French-speaking enclave to the north of the sawmill.
And Ioco, north of Port Moody, is now a ghost town; however, in 1920, it had 83 homes, a grocery store, a community hall, a tennis court, a lawn bowling green and two churches for the workers at the nearby Imperial Oil Corp. refinery.
Clausen said Heritage BC tried to present a map of the province’s industry since the 19th century, highlighting the mining, forestry and canning sectors, among others.
Still, “it’s far from complete,” she said, noting staff will be adding to the map as more submissions come in from the public.
“Our hope is that if people explore the map and turn on the various tabs, they will start to see some patterns for their research” as well as the human stories as B.C. grew, she said.
Heritage BC unveiled its inaugural Industrial Heritage Map at a virtual launch party on Aug. 28. Presenters talked about the environmental impacts of industry, as well as labour rights, relationships with First Nations and the role that immigrants played.
For more information about Fraser Mills’ and Maillardville’s histories, you can visit Mackin House (1116 Brunette Ave., Coquitlam). Further details about Ioco can be found at the POMO Museum (2734 Murray St., Port Moody).
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