Matsqui (Image 1)
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In 2019 when you think of Matsqui you think about the village that is still standing today. In fact, the district of Matsqui is much larger than that and contains the farmland surrounding the village and extends out to the Fraser River. In 1995 the district of Matsqui was joined with Abbotsford to make, what we now consider, the new border of the city of Abbotsford. When it was first settled, Matsqui was a destination that attracted many Scandinavian settlers. We can see this in the first church that was created in 1903 and is still standing today, that is the Matsqui Evangelical Lutheran Church. Matsqui was an important settlement as the people thought it was a place where they could flourish and thus created the first school in 1900. Although it is not what we would consider today as a school, it was really a house in which 15 students attended and were taught by one teacher. Matsqui is an interesting and important place to look at as it is still a functioning part of Abbotsford’s society in 2019. Because Matsqui was established prior to 1900 it is a fascinating community because of some of the old buildings that are still standing to this day. With that being said, the city needs to put in a better plan in order to make sure that the surviving heritage continues to live and be a good representation of where we have gotten our foundations in this area from.
(Image 1)
Sources
The Reach Museum. Matsqui Box
Christina Reid. Interview about Matsqui. Interviewed by: Coleton Besse. Monday, March 18, 2019
Indigenous People (Image 2)
Early Life and European Contact
The Matsqui people are a Sto:lo people who are located in the Central Fraser Valley region. Matsqui got its name from the people who lived here much before any European people had come over to settle this land. It is hard to say exactly where these Matsqui First Nations people lived as the Fraser River would flood every year and keep the Matsqui peoples moving and changing their settlement along the Fraser River every year. Because of this, we can conclude that the Matsqui First Nations people did not settle where the now a day’s village stands. Due to this movement, it is very hard to track what life was like for the Matsqui First Nations Band which is very disappointing as their community is still recognized today as the region is still referred to as Matsqui even after they joined the district of Abbotsford. What we do know about these people are that they were one of peace and did not like to engage in conflict. It was recorded that “Old Charley” told John Maclure that the Matsqui First Nations kept their Maple Grove Reserve off of the river so that when the Thompson River Indians came into their territory during the salmon season, they could avoid conflict by leaving the riverside and going back to their reserve land.
John Maclure will be brought up no matter which section of Abbotsford you are talking about. The main purpose of settling people such as John Maclure in the Matsqui region was simply the geographical location of this region. The Royal Engineers were in charge of surveying the land and the government felt a need for a community in this region in order to create a boundary between Canada and the United States. He was one of the first Europeans to call the region of Matsqui his home. While doing work making overland telegraph systems from New Westminster, up to the coast of the Fraser Valley, through the Caribou and Northern BC, Maclure knew he wanted to return to this region once he saw the beautiful green landscape of the Matsqui region. Once his work finished, he decided to settle his family in Matsqui. At this time the only neighbours that Maclure had were First Nations people. He recalls seeing these people come from there reserve and plant things like potatoes in the land around him, this was performed because the Matsqui First Nations people were trying to stay out of the way of the Thompson River Indians. Because Maclure was living within such close proximity with the Matsqui First Nations, he developed a relationship with Old Charlie and is why some of his encounters with the Matsqui people have been documented. Because of the archives at the Reach Museum in Abbotsford, we are able to access some of this local history of how the European Settlers interacted with the Native First Nations people that were living in the region of Matsqui.
Post Contact
Ever wonder why we there are dykes located in Matsqui? Well it is so we don’t end up in a situation like the early settlers found themselves every year with the flooding of the Fraser River. In the mid-1800s flooding was still a very real threat and thus steered people away from settling their families in the Matsqui area as it was prone to floods every year. Because of the unattractiveness of settlement John Maclure’s son who had bought his father’s land then sold it to Robert Ward just 67 days after buying it (see what I mean about Matsqui not being a picturesque destination to live). When the C.P.R was building its railway, Robert Ward gave them permission to build through his 160-acre land with the condition that they would have to build a station there as well. Ward figured that having a station built there meant that a town centre would have to grow in Matsqui which turned out to be true. Now that the community was kick-started with the railway, the threat of flooding still loomed over the region of Matsqui. It was determined that dykes needed to be created in order to fend off the mighty Fraser River. This project would also encourage settlers to move to the area with the guarantee of land and work. At this point, many Scandinavian people were moving to the United States but realizing that the useful land for homesteading was already taken. The government was smart and advertised for Matsqui in US newspaper in order to draw Scandinavian land seekers to Matsqui.
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Image of Matsqui Village in 1966. The Reach P19648
Sources
British Columbia Assembly of First Nations. Community Profile: Matsqui. https://bcafn.ca/community/matsqui/
Christina Reid. Interview about Matsqui. Interviewed by: Coleton Besse. Monday, March 18, 2019
The Reach Museum. “The Early history of Matsqui” by Miss G.C Cruickshank. Matsqui Box
Trethewey House Heritage Site. A History of Abbotsford. http://www.tretheweyhouse.ca/about/general-history/
Important Buildings / Built Heritage (Image 3 & 4)
City of Abbotsford’s plan
Many of the original buildings built by the early European settlers are still standing to this day. When talking to Christina Reid, who is the Executive Director of the Heritage Abbotsford Society, she is very concerned about the future for these old buildings. Because the majority of them are built on private property, there is nothing the city can do to designate the buildings as “Heritage Sites”. At the end of the day, it is up to the property owners to decide what they do with the buildings that are on their land. Another common theme that arises with the majority of the buildings located in Matsqui is the extensive damage that was done by the flood of 1945. This flood devastated the entire region and impacted every part of these people’s lives. As the flood negatively impacted lots of the infrastructure, some local heroes emerged during a time of crisis that will be highlighted later on.
Education Buildings
There are a few crucial things you need in a place in order to see growth. One of these things is a school. The history of education in Matsqui is a very interesting one. In January of 1900, the first school on Matsqui Prairie was opened in a converted farmhouse and housed 15 students. By today’s standards, this would not qualify as a school but for 1900 this was a big deal that children were able to have a place to go to learn things especially in a farming community such as Matsqui. In 1903 a dedicated building was built to function as a school, and a year later a second building was built next door to house more students. In 1913 yet another school was built, the growth this town was seeing was tremendous and proof that 3 different schools were constructed in 13 years shows that Matsqui was becoming an up and coming place to live. In 1929 a second school was built and was designated as the high school, no longer could K-12 fit in the same building. Sadly in 1941, the high school had burnt to the ground during the devastating fires in Matsqui Village. In May of 1948, just like the rest of the village, the school found itself sitting in 9 feet of water due to the flood of the Fraser River. After much renovating and rebuilding a gymnasium was built between the two schools and connected the entire school together. Over time the school had very severe structural damage, (most likely due to the flood) which caused the city to build a new school in 2004. With the new school being built, this meant that the old school was torn down and does not stand anymore.
(Image 3) Image of Matsqui Elementary during the flood of 1948. The Reach P11830
Matsqui Evangelical Luteran Church
(Image 4)
As previously mentioned, the majority of early settlers were of Scandinavian descent. Because of this, the local population felt it was necessary to create a place in which they were able to gather can celebrate the religion in which they practiced in their homeland. Officially on July 5, 1903, local Lutherans gathered for a meeting to establish the groundwork for forming a congregation and to official build a Church in which they could gather. By 1920 the church building was completed, and they decided to host a 30-day District Convention in which visitors attended from all over the United States and Canada. In the year 1928, the small congregation celebrated their 25th anniversary dating back to the early years of meeting at someone’s home in order to practice their faith. The Great Depression affected everyone, and for a small congregation it was very hard to keep its doors open but through faith, the church was able to do so and in 1945 they welcomed their first resident pastor, Rev. K.O Kandal. The flood would take its toll on the church in 1948 as it did extensive damage and needed many renovations in the years after the flood. But again, through the Grace of God the church was able to make it through these tough years and is still standing today in Matsqui Village.
Image of the Matsqui Evangelical Lutheran Church taken in 1963. Courtesy of The Reach Abbotsford P15352
Sources
The Reach Museum. “Matsqui” Box
The Reach Museum. “Religion” box. 8th Anniversary Matsqui Evangelical Lutheran Church
The Reach Museum. Email from Brad Bird (Principle of Matsqui Elementary School) to Lois Hiebert in June 2016, Subject: School History.
Important People (Image 5)
Frank Smith
Frank Smith is one of the very early settlers to enter the region of Matsqui. He came to B.C in 1909 and after moving around a little bit he finally settled in Matsqui Village 2 years later. At this time many people living in the area were farmers that were living in the prairie and only came to the village when in need of something to buy or sell. When Frank decided to make Matsqui is long term home he bought a house on St. Olaf Street for a whopping $600. Even to this day St. Olaf Street remains to be one of the main streets that runs through the village. When asked about what the village looked like when he first moved to town he said, “two or three houses on Riverside Road and ah, and there was about ah, oh I’ll say six houses on St Olaf Street” and that “there was a, there was . . . When I came there, there were two stores, and then the Co-op built another store.” As a seemly normal person, Frank is important to the study of Matsqui as we get a glimpse into what the “average” person was to see when moving into Matsqui Village in the early 1900s.
Mabel Adams and Maud Aish
Mabel Adams and Maud Aish are other cases where we see the lives of seemingly “average” people. The girls were the first twins to live in the Matsqui area, but these girls did not live in the village, they lived on Matsqui Prairie where the majority of the population lived. Until 1914 the girls lived in a house on Page road which is considered today as one of the “country roads” that runs through the prairie and into the village. In 1914 the girls moved with their family down the road onto eighty archers of property on Mercer and Beharrell Road. They lived a typical farm life, had horses that they used to transport material with wagons and brought the goods from the farm into the village to sell. In these days the girls used to ride the horses to school on nice days where the school had a barn to house the horses while the children were in class. The school they attended until grade 8 was in Ridgedale and was located in the Ridgedale Hall until a new 2 room school was renovated and moved into when the girls were in the second grade. The girls did not live a fabulous childhood but rather the “norm” for local farmers residing in the Matsqui Prairie.
Bill Lancaster
Bill Lancaster was born and raised on the Matsqui Prairie and came from a family of 4 boys, Bert, Dick, Bill, and Tom. Bill was a bit of a trouble maker while he was growing up and always found himself in trouble with the principal at school. But Bills childhood is not what got him into the “Important People” category, his actions during the devastating flood of 1948 are indeed what makes him an important person for Matsqui village. The entire Lancaster family played a very important role during the flood. When the dykes first showed sign of giving way, the CNR brought 20 flat cars of rock while one of the locals brought a bulldozer to help try and build a barricade for the dyke which had water to the top. The community began to show up later that night and people were busy filling sandbags in order to try and stop the eventual water that would spill over the top of the dyke. At this point, their worst nightmare would come true, not only was water going to spill over the top of the dyke, but it was going to destroying the dyke leaving the village of Matsqui helpless for the onslaught of water that would ensue. During this time of chaos, Bill went around to the local farmers and helped evacuate as much of their cattle as possible and moved them to higher ground. After the dyke broke in Gifford, Bill was still busy helping his friends move cattle when a member of the Army tapped him on the shoulder and said, “we understand you know quite a bit about dykes and flood control and we need you to patrol the section from Beharrell Road to the mountain. We are informed that if this section should break it will devastate the whole Matsqui Prairie.” After a few more days of high water, the dyke gave way and Ridgedale filled up with water. Once this had occurred Bill and his brother Bert spent the next few days cruising “Matsqui Lake” making sure that everyone was OK. After all, was said and done with the flood Bill was given the job of “dyke control” and would work night shift making sure that the dyke would never be jeopardized like it was that summer of 1948. Bill would consider himself just an average person that was only doing his duty to make sure everyone was ok when in reality he was an unsung hero for a town trying to get its identity.
Image of Bill Lancaster helping his neighbours during the flood of 1948. The Reach P5396
The Johansen Family
Peter and his wife Jensine Johansen moved to Matsqui in 1943. His two sons Erlof and John started a supermarket that quickly became a landmark in Matsqui Village. Opening in the late 1940s the brothers ran a supermarket that had everything from produce, hardware, dry goods, to socks, and dishes. Majority of people would go into the store to get their pop and pack of cigarettes and to make conversation with the two Johansen brothers. When the flood hit it completely destroyed the store, but the brothers were able to use this negative experience and turn it into something positive. In June of 1950, the brothers were able to build a new store in the heart of Matsqui Village which was the biggest store in the Fraser Valley at that time, farmers came from miles around to shop and visit the friendly store owners. This new store gave the brothers the opportunity to give a complete service to the local people of Matsqui. This was until the late 1960s when Safeway and the Surrey Co-op opened in nearby towns, this meant that the locals would travel out of town to get better deals on the same products. In order to stay in business, the Johansen’s had to cut wages just to make ends meet and in 1992 they could no longer do it. When people were asked about their experience in the supermarket things such as “1950s air to it” was said. When you went to the supermarket you knew you would be met with a smile and friendly conversation which was a lost art with these big chains moving in. The Johannsen’s were legends in Matsqui and should be remembered for their great contributions to the region of Matsqui.
Sources
The Reach Museum. Interviewer: Gail Smith. Interviewee: Frank Smith. Interview, March 12, 1983
The Reach Museum. “Matsqui” Box
The Reach Museum. Tales That Should Be Told, Memories of Matsqui. Bill Lancaster. William Lancaster 1995.
The Reach Museum. A.S.M News 1992
The Reach Museum. Abbotsford Times: Saturday, June 6, 1992
Matsqui Today (Image 6 & 7)
What does Matsqui look like in the 21st century?
(Image 6) Image of Matsqui Evangelical Lutheran Church in 2019
Matsqui is now a part of Abbotsford but the village will be remembered forever because of the resilient settlers that overcame so many adversities to lead us to where we are today. The growth of Matsqui started to kick off in 1926 as there were 4300 children enrolled in Matsqui High School and the now 10 local elementary schools across the prairie. A local newspaper said that in 1927 Matsqui was the, “finest agricultural and residential section of the Fraser Valley: and the thriving town of Matsqui is a complete and economical trading centre for the fertile Matsqui prairie.” The article also goes on to talk about the good roads, electric lights, and the town’s amenities, such as “two churches, a well-equipped hotel, Community Hall, three general stores, two butcher shops, barber shop, refreshments, pool parlour, restaurant, realty offices, bank, blacksmith, and other businesses such as the Farmer’s Coop store.” To go along with all of these stores and amenities, the wildlife was also very abundant in these days with bears, deer, cougars, bobcats, raccoons, wolves, coyotes and even in the higher elevations silver-tip bear and wild goats. Man, Matsqui sounded like the place to be in the early 20th century! The flood was very devastating for many of the people living in the area, but those who survived helped each other get back on their feet and grow the community. Even today the remanence of the old village can be seen all over the place and should be valued for what they stand for. It would be very nice to see the city find a way to designate the old buildings in Matsqui Village as heritage sights so that they can be preserved well into the future as Matsqui makes up much of Abbotsford’s history. As Abbotsford continues to grow and is well on its way to having 200,000 citizens it is nice to know where it got its roots from and to respect the Sto:lo people in which lived here before the European Settlers moved in.
(Image 7) This image was taken by the Fraser River in 2019. There is now a board set up to commemorate the various floods that occurred in Matsqui.
Sources
The Reach Museum. “Matsqui” Box
The Reach Museum. A brief historical sketch of Matsqui School. February 15, 1992. Laura Kristiansen