Barnet Lumber Company House
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Geographic Access
- Texaco Drive
- Associated Dates
- 1925
- Description
- Residential building.
- Heritage Value
- This house is one of two surviving houses built as a “Model Home” for the manager of the Barnet Lumber Company, which was the successor to the North Pacific Lumber Company. It was used as a combined home and office. It was constructed with framing lumber and millwork sawn at the mill. Typical of the Craftsman style, the house has a front gabled roof with triangular eave brackets. It has been altered with the addition of asbestos shingles over the original siding, but retains its form, scale and massing.
This house was designed by the firm of Townley & Matheson. The partnership of Fred Laughton Townley (1887-1966) and Robert Michael Matheson began in 1919, and the firm left a rich legacy of sophisticated work, including schools, commercial structures, many fine residences and the landmark Vancouver City Hall.
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
- Architect
- Townley & Matheson
- Area
- 2225.77
- Contributing Resource
- Building
- Ownership
- Public (local)
- Names
- Townley & Matheson
- Barnet Lumber Company
- Subjects
- Buildings - Heritage
- Buildings - Residential
- Buildings - Residential - Houses
- Street Address
- 8007 Texaco Drive
- Street View URL
- Google Maps Street View
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Barnet Lumber Company House
Barnet Neighbourhood
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Associated Dates
- 1925-1954
- Heritage Value
- In 1925, the mill at Barnet was under new ownership and was known as the Barnet Lumber Company. It was one of the most successful local employers in Burnaby until the 1930s, when the economic crisis of the Great Depression resulted in a strike at the mill. The City of Burnaby eventually assumed control of the site - including all of the homes - when the company failed to pay its taxes. The City then dismantled the mill and resold the property in two parts - the eastern section would become the Kapoor sawmill and the western portion, the McColl-Frontenac Oil Company.
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
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Barnet Neighbourhood
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Associated Dates
- 1889-1904
- Heritage Value
- The North Pacific Lumber Company in Barnet was one of Burnaby's first industrial developments and one of the largest in the British Empire. Partners James MacLaren and Frank Ross built the mill in 1889 (activated in 1899) as a requirement for obtaining 84,000 acres of timber rights in northern BC. Due to the mill's isolation, the firm built homes for its employees with families and bunkhouses for the bachelors which separated Caucasian workers from Chinese and Sikh workers. Barnet became a distinct company town with its own general store, school, post office, community hall and telephone exchange.
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
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Barnet Neighbourhood
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Associated Dates
- 1905-1924
- Heritage Value
- 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.
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
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North Pacific Lumber Company Ruins
- Repository
- Burnaby Heritage Planning
- Geographic Access
- Barnet Road
- Associated Dates
- 1909
- Description
- Industrial building.
- Heritage Value
- 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.
- Locality
- Barnet
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
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Aeroplane view of the Barnet Lumber Co.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1927
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia postcard ; 8.9 x 13.4 cm
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photographic postcard of Barnet Lumber Company's Mill. The handwritten caption on the lower left corner of the postcard reads: "Aeroplane view of the Barnet Lumber Co. Ltd./ Barnet BC." The handwritten caption on the lower right corner reads: "Copyright 1927/ Pacific Airway Ltd./ Vancouver …
A Good Size Log, Barnet B.C
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1907]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w postcard ; 8.7 x 13.8 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photographic postcard of a labourer grappling with a large log on the log chute at the Barnet mill. The caption to the card reads: "A Good Size Log / Barnet B.C." The Barnet Mill was called the North Pacific Lumber Company from 1889 to 1914.
A Pretty Dwelling, Barnet B.C.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1907]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia postcard ; 8.5 x 14 cm
- Scope and Content
- 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."
Barnet, B.C. from the Hill
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1907]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : sepia postcard ; 8 x 13 cm
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the village of Barnet at the mill. The caption stamped at the top of the card reads: "Barnet, B.C. from the Hill." The Barnet Mill was called the North Pacific Lumber Company from 1889 to 1914.
Barnet Lumber mill
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [192-] (date of original), copied 2004
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of the Barnet Lumber Company mill in operation. C.P.R. railroad tracks are visible in the foreground and trees on the north shore of Burrard Inlet are visible in the distance. Plumes of smoke are rising from the mill chimneys.
Barnet Mill being rebuilt
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1909] (date of original), copied [1998]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 10 x 15 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of lumber piled up and the skeleton of a building being framed during the rebuilding of the Barnet Mill after the fire of 1909. The Barnet Mill was called the North Pacific Lumber Company from 1889 to 1914.
Barnet Road
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1922 (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Robert Woolsey carrying his daughter, Margaret, piggy-back along Barnet Road. Note the planked surface. Margaret was two years old at the time. In the upper right corner of the photograph is the Barnet School caretaker's cottage, located beside Barnet School at 7820 Barnet Road.
Barnet Road
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- 1921 (date of original), copied 1986
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.7 x 17.8 cm print
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Barnet Road covered with November snows. The road was always treacherous in winter with snow and rock slides. In the upper right corner of the photograph is Barnet School and caretaker's cottage. Barnet School was located at 7820 Barnet Road.
The Depot. Barnet BC
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1907]
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Historical Society fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w postcard ; 8.5 x 1 4cm
- Scope and Content
- 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."
Eleanor and Louise Irwin with Uncle Fred in snow
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1928] (date of original), copied 2004
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Eleanor Irwin (Nelson) and Louise Irwin with their uncle, Fred Taylor. The group are standing in the snow in the yard of the Irwin family home at the Barnet Lumber Mill.Eleanor is holding a doll and Fred Taylor is holding Louise.
Eleanor and Louise with Aunt Mary Beale
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1929] (date of original), copied 2004
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Eleanor Irwin (Nelson) and Louise Irwin on a tricycle with their Aunt Mary Beale standing behind. Eleanor is peddling while Louise is standing behind and holding onto her her sister's waist. The group is in the yard of the Irwin family home on the site of the Barnet Lumber Mill. The m…
Eleanor Irwin on sled
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1928] (date of original), copied 2004
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Eleanor Irwin (Nelson) standing on a wooden sled in the snow. A tall coniferous tree is behind her.
Eleanor, Louise, H.S. Irwin and grandmother Taylor at Barnet
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- [1929] (date of original), copied 2004
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Eleanor Irwin Nelson (left), Louise Irwin (in front), Harvey Stanley Irwin and his mother in law, Elizabeth (Shephard) Taylor in the garden of the manager's residence at the Barnet mill.
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- In the Shadow by the Sea collection
- Series
- Irwin family photographs series
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph (tiff) : 300 dpi
- Scope and Content
- Photograph of Eleanor Irwin Nelson (left), Louise Irwin (in front), Harvey Stanley Irwin and his mother in law, Elizabeth (Shephard) Taylor in the garden of the manager's residence at the Barnet mill.
- Names
- Barnet Mill
- Barnet Lumber Company
- Nelson, Eleanor Irwin
- Irwin, Louise
- Irwin, Henry Stanley
- Taylor, Elizabeth Shephard
- Geographic Access
- Burrard Inlet
- Accession Code
- BV019.32.65
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No known restrictions
- Date
- [1929] (date of original), copied 2004
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Barnet (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Mountain Area
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- See page 47 of book "In the Shadow by the Sea: Recollections of Burnaby's Barnet Village" with caption "...Left to Right: Eleanor Irwin, Louise Irwin, Mr. Irwin and Grandmother Irwin, 1929"
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