In 1905 the Nichols Chemical Company, acid manufacturers based in Montreal, established their plant on a large point of land just east of the North Pacific Lumber Company. This company was later amalgamated and acquired by General Chemical and remains in operation on the original waterfront site.
Located on the shore of Burrard Inlet, these poured concrete piers of the smokestack burner and the former boiler and plant of the North Pacific Lumber Company are among the only remains of the once-thriving industrial site located on the waterfront on the south shore of Burrard Inlet. The sawmill and the Village of Barnet were initiated by David MacLaren, a wealthy lumberman from Buckingham, Quebec, who had previously established the Fraser Mills in Coquitlam in 1889. McLaren gambled that a sawmill on the main line of the C.P.R near Vancouver would serve the Canadian domestic market and be a profitable venture. The North Pacific Lumber Company established itself on this peninsula on Burrard Inlet and was fully operational in 1900. In 1909, the mill was completely burned out by a fire starting in the boiler room. Immediately the plant was rebuilt, modern in every respect and absolutely fireproof, as the entire power plant and boiler room was built of reinforced concrete and steel, of which these ruins are the last remains. The plant closed during the First World War and reopened as the Barnet Lumber Company in 1925 only to close forever in 1931 after a strike during the Great Depression.
Photograph of the front garden and exterior of the North Pacific Lumber Co. (NPLC) Manager's house at Barnet. The caption on the card reads: "A Pretty Dwelling, Barnet B.C."
Photograph of the front garden and exterior of the North Pacific Lumber Co. (NPLC) Manager's house at Barnet. The caption on the card reads: "A Pretty Dwelling, Barnet B.C."
Photographic postcard of a Canadian Pacific Railway train pulling into the train station at Barnet. The caption on the bottom of the card reads: "The Depot. Barnet B.C."
Photographic postcard of a Canadian Pacific Railway train pulling into the train station at Barnet. The caption on the bottom of the card reads: "The Depot. Barnet B.C."
This portion of the recording includes Ada Evelyn (Lewis) Groves memories of her family life during the early days of Burnaby. She mentions the East Burnaby Fruit Farm (her family's farm) and the George Leaf General Store. She also talks about her brothers and her father, the first typesetter for t…
This portion of the recording includes Ada Evelyn (Lewis) Groves memories of her family life during the early days of Burnaby. She mentions the East Burnaby Fruit Farm (her family's farm) and the George Leaf General Store. She also talks about her brothers and her father, the first typesetter for the Columbian newspaper. Ada is being interviewed in front of an audience at Heritage Village (now Burnaby Village Museum).
Recording is of interviews with Lillian May (Davies) Jones, Ada Evelyn (Lewis) Groves, Lillian Frederica (Lewis) Porter, and Elsie Wilson during the Pioneer Days celebration at Heritage Village (now Burnaby Village Museum) on September 22, 1971. Major themes discussed are: personal memories and occupations of interviewees family members.
Biographical Notes
Lillian May Davies was born June 28, 1891 to George and Rachel (Mills) Davies. She was one of four children.
George Davies married Rachel Mills September 12, 1888 in Winnipeg and headed west to make their home. George’s brother Richard Davies had already bought property at the corner of 16th Street and 3rd Avenue (now 12th Avenue) when Rachel and George moved in and built a house next door. George Davies went to work for Gilley Bros. Logging Co. in Burnaby.
Lillian May Davies married John Henry Jones on July 29, 1909 at the Methodist Church in Burnaby which had opened only a few weeks before (the Joneses were the first couple to be married there). Their reception was held in the Davies’ family garden.
On June 3, 1910, Lillian and John’s first child, Arnold Jones was born. In 1919 they adopted their second child, John Sheldon Jones whose birth parents had died of influenza.
John and Lillian built a home on the lot next to Lillian’s parents and lived there for forty-eight years. After her husband’s death in 1956, Lillian moved one lot over and remained living there for over twenty years.
Lillian May (Davies) Jones died in Surrey on June 24, 1981 at the age of eighty-nine for over twenty years.
Lillian May (Davies) Jones died in Surrey on June 24, 1981 at the age of eighty-nine.
Ada Evelyn Lewis was born on September 11, 1899. She was one of nine Lewis children.
Ada's father came to Victoria BC from San Francisco. He met his wife in Victoria and moved to New Westminster where he was a typesetter on the first edition of the Columbian newspaper. He continued to work for the Columbian until his retirement.
Her family owned the East Burnaby Fruit Farm at 17th Avenue between 2nd and 4th Street where they harvested apples, plums and pears. Ada attended East Burnaby School in 1905 and remembers being a pupil of Miss Draper.
Ada E. Lewis married and became Mrs. Ada Evelyn Groves.
Lillian Frederica “Lillie” Lewis was born in 1896 to William Henry and Emma (Smith) Lewis at the family farm at 4th Street and 18th Avenue. The family grew to nine, eldest to youngest; Albert, Lizzie, Minnie, Walter, Ernest, Lillie and Evelyn.
Lillie’s mother, Emma (Smith) had the distinction of being the first girl of European descent to be born at Fort Victoria. Lillie’s father, William Henry Lewis helped to print the very first edition of the Vancouver Province in 1898.
Lillie attended Douglas Road School and remembers being a pupil of Ellen Lister.
Lillian Frederica “Lillie” Lewis married Bertie Blaine Porter at Lulu Island on November 7, 1918. They lived in Vancouver for a short time before returning to Burnaby to raise their four children. For most of his working life Bert operated a steam roller for the municipality.
Lillian Frederica (Lewis) Porter died May 18, 1988 at the age of ninety-two.
Elsie Wilson was born August 16, 1898 to Annie and her second husband William Wilson.
Annie’s first husband Samuel W Walmsley died December 20, 1895 at the age of thirty-five, leaving Annie a widow at twenty-seven with two young children Annie age four and Samuel age six.
Annie Walmsley married her second husband William Wilson on April 17, 1897.
Elsie attended West Burnaby public school (later Kingsway West elementary) and remembers picking raspberries at various Burnaby farms for seven seasons.
Interview was digitized in 2010 allowing it to be accessible on Heritage Burnaby. The digitization project was initiated by the Community Heritage Commission with support from City of Burnaby Council and the BC History Digitization Program of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, University of British Columbia. It was recognized by the Heritage Society of BC with an award in 2012.
Photograph of a British Columbia Electric Railway Company tramline track on Sixth Street and Twelfth Avenue. George Leaf's General Store, located at 7745 Sixth Street is visible on the left and Cliff's Car Factory located at 7730 Sixth Street is visible on the right. George Leaf's store burned down…
Photograph of a British Columbia Electric Railway Company tramline track on Sixth Street and Twelfth Avenue. George Leaf's General Store, located at 7745 Sixth Street is visible on the left and Cliff's Car Factory located at 7730 Sixth Street is visible on the right. George Leaf's store burned down in 1913. The Car factory was established in 1902 and sometime in the 1920s, it became James Brookes Woodworking Plant.