Celebrate this year BC 150th year in Fort Langley!

Click photo for a larger view

"Gold fever hit early in 1858 as reports of rich gold finds on the Fraser River leaked out. Some 30,000 people, from California and around the world, came in search of quick riches. Fort Langley achieved world fame as the starting point for the Fraser gold fields.
Fearful of an American takeover, the British Government declared the territory a British Colony, and on November 19, 1858, a gathering at Fort Langley's 'Big House' witnessed the creation of the Colony of British Columbia.
James Douglas, a HBC (Hudson's Bay Company) manager, was installed as the first governor, and recommended Fort Langley as capital of the new colony, but was overruled by the British Royal Engineers, who chose New Westminster as a more defensible location. When the British Columbia (mainland) and Vancouver Island colonies merged in 1866, Victoria became the capital of the combined colony, which soon became a province of Canada."

Photos shows: Upper, left to right:

• Barrel making building,
  
• Blacksmith shop,
  
• Storehouse (The storehouse, built in the 1840s and renovated in the 1930s, is the only original building left on site. Used as a warehouse for most of the Hudson's Bay Company time period, it has also served as a cooperage, a dwelling, and a barn.)

Lower: Left to Right

• This 'bateau' is similar to the boats that took supplies to the interior posts and brought furs from the Interior to Fort Langley.

• Big House- British Columbia was proclaimed a colony at a ceremony in the Big House on November 19, 1858. The present building was reconstructed for the centennial of this event. The original building served as the fort's office and residence of the chief trader, the clerk, and their families.

• Inside the 'Big House.'

Important point:
Fort Langley WAS NOT a military fort. --joesuganob