The original Barnet mill burned down in 1909 after a dramatic explosion in the boiler house. The company rebuilt a new plant, considered a model of mill construction. The company's timber was towed down the Pacific in huge rafts containing about 400,000 to 500,000 board feet. Mill capacity during a 10-hour day was 150,000 board feet with an amazing annual output of 50 million feet.
George S. Vickers, a compositor with The British Columbian newspaper, was a prominent Burnaby resident who became involved with real estate during the boom prior to the First World War. In December 1910, The British Columbian reported that “Mr. Vickers has commenced to build a commodious residence on Fourth Avenue between 1st and 2nd streets.” This high quality Craftsman style bungalow, completed in 1911, was originally situated on one acre of property, which contained a large kitchen garden, an orchard of 40 trees of various types and houses and runs for chickens, ducks and turkeys. In 1919, the property was advertised for $5,000 and likely sold easily because of its location (three blocks from the electric streetcar line on Sixth Street), its many amenities and property improvements. Some of its selling points included its panelled living and dining room with 3-ply veneer, beamed ceilings and an open fireplace. Craftsman-style features include battered porch piers, unusual double bargeboards, triangular eave brackets and exposed purlins. The house survives in excellent original condition, with only minor alterations.
The T.O. Townley Estate, 'Deerholme,' is located on a lake front property on the north shore of Deer Lake Park. The main house is a two-and-one-half storey symmetrical-massed wood-frame Colonial Revival structure, with flanking one-storey wings, a side gable roof and a central front entry.
The T.O. Townley Estate, 'Deerholme,' is located on a lake front property on the north shore of Deer Lake Park. The main house is a two-and-one-half storey symmetrical-massed wood-frame Colonial Revival structure, with flanking one-storey wings, a side gable roof and a central front entry.
Heritage Value
'Deerholme' was built as the retirement estate of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Owen Townley (1862-1935) and his wife, Frances M. Townley. Townley was a pioneer resident of the Lower Mainland of British Columbia: he served as a lawyer, Registrar of Land Titles for New Westminster District and Mayor of Vancouver for one term in 1901.
Built in 1913, this is one of the most significant of the Deer Lake estate houses and was the last of grand Edwardian era mansions built on the lots surrounding the lake. The area had been opened up for development two years earlier by the construction of the British Columbia Electric Railway Interurban Line. The estate speaks of a gracious way of life achieved by society's elite during the Edwardian era, supported by the use of domestic servants. Grand in scale, architecturally sophisticated and set in a bucolic landscape, this residence demonstrates the social status of the owner in the privileged classes of the rapidly developing social structure of Burnaby.
The house is also significant as one of the earliest designs by the son of Thomas and Frances Townley, architect Fred Laughton Townley (1887-1966), who had graduated in architecture in 1911 from the University of Pennsylvania. In this house for his parents, he demonstrated his deft understanding of the American Period Revival styles learned during his schooling in the United States. The prevailing local taste for British-derived architecture dictated that this was a style he was rarely able to use until the Colonial Revival styles became more popular in the 1920s. F.L. Townley was a founding partner in Townley and Matheson, which achieved significant success as one of the most accomplished local architectural firms, culminating in their best-known commission, Vancouver City Hall, 1935-36.
Defining Elements
Key elements the define the heritage character of ‘Deerholme’ include its:
- integration with its south-sloping lakefront site, which contains many original landscape features (extant rockeries, formal drive, tennis lawn, open fields, and specimen shrubs and trees)
- two-and-one-half storey form with flanking one-storey wings
- side gable roof with symmetrical shed dormers, three at the front and three at the rear
- complex fenestration, including multi-paned wooden-sash double-hung windows, 6-over-1 on the ground floor and 6-over-9 on the second floor, and multi-paned wooden-sash casements in the dormers
- pair of prominent exterior brick chimneys on each side elevation, clad with rough-cast stucco up to the roof level, and each with four chimney-pots
- rough-cast stucco cladding
- design elements typical of the Colonial Revival style, such as composed classical formality, side gable roof and balanced symmetrical massing
- exterior architectural elements, such as classical columns, window shutters, fanlight feature window, multi-paned quarter-round windows flanking the chimneys, and projecting square brackets in the gables
- superior level of design and craftsmanship throughout, including refined interior woodwork such as fireplaces, interior columned screen between hallway and living room and a staircase with Colonial Revival details
- significant mature trees (such as Red Oaks, Silver Maples, and Copper Beech).
- original guest house and stables, which survive on an adjacent property at 6176 Price Street
P.I.D. No. 002-652-111
Legal Description: Parcel 'C' (Explanatory Plan 12891) , Blocks 4 and 5, District Lot 79 Group 1, New Westminster District, Plan 536
Boundaries
‘Deerholme’ is comprised of a single municipally-owned property located at 6110 Price Street, Burnaby.
Area
14,099.52
Contributing Resource
Building
Landscape Feature
Ownership
Public (local)
Other Collection
City of Vancouver Archives: T.O. Townley Residence, Original Plans, Add. MSS. 1399, Temporary No. 61, Location 920-D
Documentation
Heritage Site Files: PC77000 20. City of Burnaby Planning and Building Department, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C., V5G 1M2
On December 13, 1912, The British Columbian Weekly described the Vancouver Heights neighbourhood as follows: "The northern portion of the municipality in the vicinity of Boundary Road has during the past three years made tremendous strides towards settlement. At that time Mr. James Herd and Mr. Peters were the only residents of the district...Soon, however, the timber was removed, streets laid out and other conveniences such as water, light and transportation provided... The school population of the district has increased so rapidly that the school has been enlarged twice this year and is at the present time inadequate. About 200 children are attending now. There are three churches in the district and one mission...At present time there are two large blocks containing six stores..."
2019 version of working document developed by Burnaby Village Museum in collaboration with a number of First Nations partners over the course of several years.
We recognize that Burnaby falls within the shared, ancestral and unceded territories of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking people. We equally respect each of the Nations who share territory in Burnaby, and invite and welcome their ongoing participation in developing the contents of the Indigenous History in Burnaby Resource Guide.
3 folders textual records and architectural drawings
Scope and Content
File contains correspondence, permits, financial statements, and reports regarding improvements to Central Park. File also contains correspondence regarding advertising signs in the park, the Central Park Women's Institute and includes a 1925 plan for Central Park Camp Septic Tank. As well, the f…
3 folders textual records and architectural drawings
Description Level
File
Record No.
2165
Accession Number
2001-02
Scope and Content
File contains correspondence, permits, financial statements, and reports regarding improvements to Central Park. File also contains correspondence regarding advertising signs in the park, the Central Park Women's Institute and includes a 1925 plan for Central Park Camp Septic Tank. As well, the file contains correspondence pertaining to the lease agreement granting Burnaby jurisdiction over Central Park.
File consists of a photographic reproduction of a twenty nine page photograph album that was created by Florence Hart Godwin. The first page of the album reads "Florence, with Grandma's and Auntie Felicia's best love, Xmas 1910" and the other pages contain photographs. The album was given to Flore…
File consists of a photographic reproduction of a twenty nine page photograph album that was created by Florence Hart Godwin. The first page of the album reads "Florence, with Grandma's and Auntie Felicia's best love, Xmas 1910" and the other pages contain photographs. The album was given to Florence Hart for Christmas in 1910, by her grandmother Jane Chapman (nee Isbell) and her Aunt Felicia Chapman. Album contains photographs of the Alice and Frederick J. Hart and Chapman families, including childhood photographs of the five Hart children, Kingsley, Florence, Fredricka, Edwyna and Jack; the Hart family at their home in New Westminster and at "Avalon" their summer residence and home on Deer Lake.
5 folders textual records and cartographic material
Scope and Content
File contains draft bylaws, draft contracts and correspondence related to the operation of the Western Canada Power Company. As well, file contains declarations, news clippings, correspondence, ballots, and tally sheets that resulted from the voting held regarding the Western Canada Power Co. Byla…
5 folders textual records and cartographic material
Description Level
File
Record No.
2091
Accession Number
2001-02
Scope and Content
File contains draft bylaws, draft contracts and correspondence related to the operation of the Western Canada Power Company. As well, file contains declarations, news clippings, correspondence, ballots, and tally sheets that resulted from the voting held regarding the Western Canada Power Co. Bylaw. Also included are agreements, correspondence and bylaw no. 114. The 1922 agreement includes a blueprint. As well, file contains a white linen plan of DL 15 and blueprint plans of standard power pole and transmission towers on Broadway and Cariboo Roads, 1916.
For related records see also file 6-1-5-2. A map of the Municipality of Burnaby by Archibald Moir and Co. : M9-B-2-11; blueprint of Burnaby Municipality : M9-B-2-15
File contains correspondence dealing with a petition for a sidewalk along 2nd Avenue. As well, file contains correspondence related to construction and maintenance along 20th Street, Ledger Road, and Moncton Street.
File contains correspondence dealing with a petition for a sidewalk along 2nd Avenue. As well, file contains correspondence related to construction and maintenance along 20th Street, Ledger Road, and Moncton Street.
File contains a petition from the Corporation of the District of North Vancouver calling for the internment of Austrian, German and Turkish citizens during World War One, as well as expressing the desire that foreign nationals be restricted from purchasing property in B.C. File also contains corre…
File contains a petition from the Corporation of the District of North Vancouver calling for the internment of Austrian, German and Turkish citizens during World War One, as well as expressing the desire that foreign nationals be restricted from purchasing property in B.C. File also contains correspondence and Orders In Council pertaining to the activities, rights, and restrictions of alien enemies and the possible espionage activities in which they may have played a part.
File contains correspondence, reports, and an agreement made between the Corporation of the District of Burnaby and the B.C. Electric Railway Co. for work to be done in connection with the Company's Highland Park cut-off. File also contains correspondence and reports regarding a crossing at Stride…
File contains correspondence, reports, and an agreement made between the Corporation of the District of Burnaby and the B.C. Electric Railway Co. for work to be done in connection with the Company's Highland Park cut-off. File also contains correspondence and reports regarding a crossing at Stride Avenue.
File contains Burnaby Historical Society regular meeting minutes and reports, as well as the minutes of the annual general meeting. File also contains an invitation to the official plaque unveiling of the Pixie McGeachie Reading Room at the City of Burnaby Archives and event program.
File contains Burnaby Historical Society regular meeting minutes and reports, as well as the minutes of the annual general meeting. File also contains an invitation to the official plaque unveiling of the Pixie McGeachie Reading Room at the City of Burnaby Archives and event program.
"Bucilla Blue Book editions following Vol. 2 will be equally interesting and useful. They will contain many exceptionally novel ideas for crochet, including filet crochet, tatting, knitting, embroidery, etc. Every Art-Needleworker should have a complete library of Bucilla Blue Books." -- Title page verso
File contains photographs from a Burnaby Historical Society Christmas party held in the ice cream parlour at the Burnaby Village Museum. The party included a performance by a group of burlesque dancers in retro costumes and visit by Santa Claus.
File contains photographs from a Burnaby Historical Society Christmas party held in the ice cream parlour at the Burnaby Village Museum. The party included a performance by a group of burlesque dancers in retro costumes and visit by Santa Claus.
Photographs were originally contained in a photograph album and removed by Archives staff for preservation purposes. Original order of photographs within the album is maintained.