Fort Langley National Historic Site
Encyclopedia
Fort Langley is a former trading post
of the Hudson's Bay Company
, now located in the village of Fort Langley, British Columbia
. Commonly referred to as "the birthplace of British Columbia
", it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and administered by Parks Canada
.
After John Jacob Astor
's Pacific Fur Company
sold its assets in the Oregon Country
to the North West Company
following the War of 1812
, Astor's Fort Astoria
was renamed Fort George and became the main depot for Pacific interior
trade
. Pelts collected in the northern New Caledonia
district travelled south along the Fraser River
to Fort Alexandria, then overland via a route known as the Brigade Trail to Fort Okanagan then along the Columbia River
to Fort George on the coast.
The Oregon Country/Columbia District
was shared between the British and Americans in the Treaty of 1818
, but the treaty was to expire in 1828 and since Fort George stood on the south side of the Columbia River, it would likely be awarded to the United States in any boundary agreement. After the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company
in 1821, the HBC administrator George Simpson
suggested the creation of Fort Vancouver
on the northern bank of the Columbia, but that it serve as secondary post to a larger trade hub further north near the mouth of the Fraser River
. Simpson felt such a location help secure the coast from ocean-based American competition, and believed the Fraser to be more navigable than the Columbia River. He sent Chief Trader James McMillan
to explore the region, and McMillan proposed an area near the Salmon River suitable to agriculture, and where fish were plentiful.
. This site was not the same as today's fort, but 4 km to the northwest at what was later called Old Fort Langley and then renamed Derby
in 1858 (now only farmland). But when they arrived at the end of July, five of the men were incapacitated with gonorrhea
, another with "venereal disease", and all the horses were either dead, crippled, or exhausted. Despite these setbacks and the heavy brambles at the site, the remaining 19 men began to clear the land in preparation for the fort. The first bastion
was built by mid-August, a second at the end of the month, and the palisade
walls were completed in early September. Some of the Hudson's Bay men were nervous about the indigenous people of the Fraser
, and the bastions were completed first "to command respect in the eyes of the Indians, who begin, shrewedly, to conjecture for what purpose the Ports and loopholes
are intended." A number of buildings were built through autumn, and Fort Langley was officially completed on November 26.
During the first few years, trade in furs with the Stó:lō
, the indigenous people
(Fraser River) was surprisingly poor from the HBC point of view. Firstly, traders from Boston controlled most of the Maritime Fur Trade
, travelling along the coast by boat. Such strong competition kept the price of pelts very high, much higher than Hudson's Bay was paying elsewhere. McMillan was advised by his superiors to intentionally undersell Americans in order to force them out of the region and assure a monopoly for the HBC. Second, indigenous people living along the river were not particularly interested in hunting or trapping, since they lived primarily on salmon
. As they had little contact with Europeans, they were quite self-sufficient and not in serious need of European goods. In the first year, guns were in high demand by the Stó:lō to fend off attacks from the Laich-kwil-tach
, but when this threat died down, firearms became mainly symbolic yet infrequent items of trade.
Also a disappointment to the HBC, was Simpson's discovery that the Fraser was not as navigable as he had imagined. Along with Archibald McDonald
(who would later replace McMillan at Fort Langley), Simpson travelled from York Factory
to Fort St. James, the centre of trade for New Caledonia before assembling a group of men (including James Murray Yale
, who would later replace McMillan) to descend the Fraser towards Fort Langley. Their party found that travel down the Fraser was relatively easy until it forked with the Thompson River
, after which the powerful rapids and sheer cliffs convinced Simpson the passage would be "certain Death, in nine attempts out of Ten." At least some part of the journey from the north would have to be made overland to bypass the Fraser Canyon
and Hell's Gate
.
As part of its plan to rid itself of American competition, the HBC sought to corner the market in Alaska
by securing a monopoly on trade with the Russian American Company in 1839 and the fort's farming activity was expanded. The location of the fort was moved four kilometres upstream in 1839 and changed its focus to farming, fish, and cranberry harvesting, rather than the fur trade
.
of the U.S. and in the path of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
, Fort Langley grew dramatically. It played a key role in the establishment of the 49th parallel
as the international boundary with the U.S. and was the staging point for prospectors heading up the Fraser Canyon
in search of their fortune.
The social and political consequences of this influx of adventurers led the British Parliament to establish a crown colony on the Pacific Mainland. Old Fort Langley was the location of the proclamation of the Crown Colony of British Columbia
in 1858 by James Douglas
, the colony's first governor, during his journey upriver to confront American miners in the wake of the Fraser Canyon War
as a pre-emptive move to forestall any drives for annexation to the US.
While some might have projected Fort Langley as the capital of the newly created colony, Colonial military commander, Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment
, deemed it militarily indefensible and ordered the construction of New Westminster on the high north bank of the Fraser River
many miles downstream due to its much more defensible position.
on the Fraser meant that river traffic was extended to Fort Hope
and Fort Yale
. Second, the capital of the colony was established at New Westminster, British Columbia
and later moved to Victoria
. Finally, competition for goods and services undercut the monopoly the Hudson's Bay Company had formerly enjoyed. In 1886, Fort Langley ceased to be a company post.
, and portrays the living conditions of three different HBC employees. The building was used to display barrel-making until 1992 when the new cooperage was built.
and his wife; and William Henry Newton and his wife, Emmaline (Tod) Newton
. The original building would have been a storehouse.
shop was first built in 1973, and then rebuilt in 1975. It features a working forge and live demonstrations of blacksmithing.
was rebuilt in 1958, while the north west bastion has only been added more recently. There was originally a third bastion along the west palisade
wall.
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
of the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
, now located in the village of Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley, British Columbia
Fort Langley is a village with a population of 2,700 and forms part of the Township of Langley. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company.-History:...
. Commonly referred to as "the birthplace of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
", it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada and administered by Parks Canada
Parks Canada
Parks Canada , also known as the Parks Canada Agency , is an agency of the Government of Canada mandated to protect and present nationally significant natural and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment in ways that ensure their ecological and commemorative...
.
A new fort
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
's Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
sold its assets in the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
to the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
following the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Astor's Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria
Fort Astoria was the Pacific Fur Company's primary fur trading post in the Northwest, and was the first American-owned settlement on the Pacific coast. After a short two-year term of US ownership, the British owned and operated it for 33 years. It was the first British port on the Pacific coast...
was renamed Fort George and became the main depot for Pacific interior
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
. Pelts collected in the northern New Caledonia
New Caledonia (Canada)
New Caledonia was the name given to a district of the Hudson's Bay Company that comprised the territory largely coterminous with the present-day province of British Columbia, Canada. Though not a British colony, New Caledonia was part of the British claim to North America. Its administrative...
district travelled south along the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
to Fort Alexandria, then overland via a route known as the Brigade Trail to Fort Okanagan then along the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
to Fort George on the coast.
The Oregon Country/Columbia District
Columbia District
The Columbia District was a fur trading district in the Pacific Northwest region of British North America in the 19th century. It was explored by the North West Company between 1793 and 1811, and established as an operating fur district around 1810...
was shared between the British and Americans in the Treaty of 1818
Treaty of 1818
The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, was a...
, but the treaty was to expire in 1828 and since Fort George stood on the south side of the Columbia River, it would likely be awarded to the United States in any boundary agreement. After the North West Company merged with the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
in 1821, the HBC administrator George Simpson
George Simpson (administrator)
Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...
suggested the creation of Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
on the northern bank of the Columbia, but that it serve as secondary post to a larger trade hub further north near the mouth of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. Simpson felt such a location help secure the coast from ocean-based American competition, and believed the Fraser to be more navigable than the Columbia River. He sent Chief Trader James McMillan
James McMillan (fur trader)
James McMillan was a fur trader and explorer for the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company. He led some of the earliest surveys of the lower Fraser River and founded Fort Langley for the HBC in 1827, and was its first Chief Trader....
to explore the region, and McMillan proposed an area near the Salmon River suitable to agriculture, and where fish were plentiful.
Erecting the fort
James McMillan returned to the Fraser with 24 men in 1827 to begin the construction of Fort Langley (named for Thomas Langley, a prominent HBC director) 50 kilometres (31.1 mi) from the mouth of the Fraser RiverFraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
. This site was not the same as today's fort, but 4 km to the northwest at what was later called Old Fort Langley and then renamed Derby
Derby, British Columbia
Derby is a locality on the lower Fraser River in northwestern Langley. The site of the original Fort Langley, established in 1827 by the Hudson's Bay Company, and was the first post established in Coast Salish territory. The Fort was later moved 4 km to its present location in 1939. In 1858,...
in 1858 (now only farmland). But when they arrived at the end of July, five of the men were incapacitated with gonorrhea
Gonorrhea
Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain...
, another with "venereal disease", and all the horses were either dead, crippled, or exhausted. Despite these setbacks and the heavy brambles at the site, the remaining 19 men began to clear the land in preparation for the fort. The first bastion
Bastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
was built by mid-August, a second at the end of the month, and the palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
walls were completed in early September. Some of the Hudson's Bay men were nervous about the indigenous people of the Fraser
Stó:lo
The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...
, and the bastions were completed first "to command respect in the eyes of the Indians, who begin, shrewedly, to conjecture for what purpose the Ports and loopholes
Embrasure
In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...
are intended." A number of buildings were built through autumn, and Fort Langley was officially completed on November 26.
Early use
Stó:lo
The Sto:lo , alternately written as Stó:lō, Stó:lô or Stó:lõ and historically as Staulo or Stahlo, and historically known and commonly referred to in ethnographic literature as the Fraser River Indians or Lower Fraser Salish, are a group of First Nations peoples inhabiting the Fraser Valley of...
, the indigenous people
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
(Fraser River) was surprisingly poor from the HBC point of view. Firstly, traders from Boston controlled most of the Maritime Fur Trade
Maritime Fur Trade
The Maritime Fur Trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in exchange for tea, silks, porcelain, and other Chinese...
, travelling along the coast by boat. Such strong competition kept the price of pelts very high, much higher than Hudson's Bay was paying elsewhere. McMillan was advised by his superiors to intentionally undersell Americans in order to force them out of the region and assure a monopoly for the HBC. Second, indigenous people living along the river were not particularly interested in hunting or trapping, since they lived primarily on salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
. As they had little contact with Europeans, they were quite self-sufficient and not in serious need of European goods. In the first year, guns were in high demand by the Stó:lō to fend off attacks from the Laich-kwil-tach
Laich-kwil-tach
Laich-kwil-tach is the proper spelling in the Kwak'wala language of the name used for themselves by the "Southern Kwakiutl" people of Quadra Island and Campbell River in British Columbia, Canada...
, but when this threat died down, firearms became mainly symbolic yet infrequent items of trade.
Also a disappointment to the HBC, was Simpson's discovery that the Fraser was not as navigable as he had imagined. Along with Archibald McDonald
Archibald McDonald
Archibald McDonald was Chief Trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley, Fort Nisqually and Fort Colville and one-time deputy governor of the Red River Settlement.-Early life:...
(who would later replace McMillan at Fort Langley), Simpson travelled from York Factory
York Factory, Manitoba
York Factory was a settlement and factory located on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. The settlement was headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Northern Department, from 1821 to...
to Fort St. James, the centre of trade for New Caledonia before assembling a group of men (including James Murray Yale
James Murray Yale
James Murray Yale was a clerk, and later, a chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley.Yale was born in Lachine, Lower Canada in 1796. He joined the HBC in 1815, and served first at Fort Wedderburn on Lake Athabasca. In April 1817, he was kidnapped by North West Company men and...
, who would later replace McMillan) to descend the Fraser towards Fort Langley. Their party found that travel down the Fraser was relatively easy until it forked with the Thompson River
Thompson River
The Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River has two main branches called the South Thompson and the North Thompson...
, after which the powerful rapids and sheer cliffs convinced Simpson the passage would be "certain Death, in nine attempts out of Ten." At least some part of the journey from the north would have to be made overland to bypass the Fraser Canyon
Fraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...
and Hell's Gate
Hells Gate, British Columbia
Hell's Gate is a 35 metre narrowing of British Columbia's Fraser River, located immediately downstream of Boston Bar in the southern Fraser Canyon. The towering rock walls of the Fraser River plunge toward each other forcing the waters through a passage only wide...
.
As part of its plan to rid itself of American competition, the HBC sought to corner the market in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
by securing a monopoly on trade with the Russian American Company in 1839 and the fort's farming activity was expanded. The location of the fort was moved four kilometres upstream in 1839 and changed its focus to farming, fish, and cranberry harvesting, rather than the fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
.
Birthplace of British Columbia
Due to its strategic location on the northern boundary of the Oregon TerritoryOregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
of the U.S. and in the path of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
Fraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
, Fort Langley grew dramatically. It played a key role in the establishment of the 49th parallel
49th parallel north
The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
as the international boundary with the U.S. and was the staging point for prospectors heading up the Fraser Canyon
Fraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is an 84 km landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley...
in search of their fortune.
The social and political consequences of this influx of adventurers led the British Parliament to establish a crown colony on the Pacific Mainland. Old Fort Langley was the location of the proclamation of the Crown Colony of British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
in 1858 by James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, the colony's first governor, during his journey upriver to confront American miners in the wake of the Fraser Canyon War
Fraser Canyon War
The Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between the Nlaka'pamux people and white miners in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurred during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which brought a...
as a pre-emptive move to forestall any drives for annexation to the US.
While some might have projected Fort Langley as the capital of the newly created colony, Colonial military commander, Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers, Columbia Detachment
Royal Engineers, Columbia detachment
Columbia detachment of the Royal Engineers was a British military contingent that played a major role in the settlement, development and security of the new British Columbia. Sent at the request of Governor James Douglas to help maintain order during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, the detachment was...
, deemed it militarily indefensible and ordered the construction of New Westminster on the high north bank of the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
many miles downstream due to its much more defensible position.
Decline
The decline of the fort over the next 30 years was attributed to three factors. First, the advent of paddle wheelersPaddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
on the Fraser meant that river traffic was extended to Fort Hope
Hope, British Columbia
Hope is a district municipality located at the confluence of the Fraser and Coquihalla rivers in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Hope is at the eastern end of both the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland region, and is at the southern end of the Fraser Canyon...
and Fort Yale
Yale, British Columbia
Yale is an unincorporated town in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was founded in 1848 by the Hudson's Bay Company as Fort Yale by Ovid Allard, the appointed manager of the new post, who named it after his superior, James Murray Yale, then Chief Factor of the Columbia District...
. Second, the capital of the colony was established at New Westminster, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and later moved to Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. Finally, competition for goods and services undercut the monopoly the Hudson's Bay Company had formerly enjoyed. In 1886, Fort Langley ceased to be a company post.
Historical revival
In 1923, the Canadian government designated Fort Langley as a National Historic Site and erected a commemorative plaque near the storehouse. At this time, the site consisted only of the one building and 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of land. From 1931 to 1956, the Native Sons and Daughters of British Columbia operated a museum out of the storehouse. Parks Canada took control of the site in 1955, and a joint Federal-Provincial program reconstructed three buildings in time for the centennial of the founding of British Columbia in 1958. In 1978, the site became a national historic park, and has consisted of 8.5 hectares (21 acres) since 1985.Buildings
The site has a number of historic buildings, both original and reconstructed, for guests to visit.Servants' quarters
The servants were reconstructed in 1958 for the Centennial of the Colony of British ColumbiaColony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
, and portrays the living conditions of three different HBC employees. The building was used to display barrel-making until 1992 when the new cooperage was built.
Big House
The Big House was also reconstructed for the 1958 Centennial, and is quite consistent with the original in terms of appearance and location within the Fort. It houses the living quarters of James Murray YaleJames Murray Yale
James Murray Yale was a clerk, and later, a chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley.Yale was born in Lachine, Lower Canada in 1796. He joined the HBC in 1815, and served first at Fort Wedderburn on Lake Athabasca. In April 1817, he was kidnapped by North West Company men and...
and his wife; and William Henry Newton and his wife, Emmaline (Tod) Newton
Depot
The Depot was reconstructed in 1997 and is mainly used as an exhibition area and administration building. The original building would have been used as a supply depot for shipments in and out of the Fort.Exhibits building
The exhibits building, built in 2001, houses a display on the international trade done by the Hudson's Bay CompanyHudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
. The original building would have been a storehouse.
Storehouse
The storehouse is the oldest building at Fort Langley, and possibly the oldest in British Columbia. It was rebuilt in the 1840s after a fire which destroyed a similar building in 1839, and was the only building which survived the demise of the Fort as an active trading post. The Mavis family, who later purchased the land, used it as a barn for a number of years, until Fort Langley was recognized as a site of historic significance in 1923.Blacksmith
The blacksmithBlacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shop was first built in 1973, and then rebuilt in 1975. It features a working forge and live demonstrations of blacksmithing.
Cooperage
The cooperage was built in 1992, slightly south of the original, and features all the required tools for barrel making and other woodworking.Bastions
The north east bastionBastion
A bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
was rebuilt in 1958, while the north west bastion has only been added more recently. There was originally a third bastion along the west palisade
Palisade
A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure.- Typical construction :Typical construction consisted of small or mid sized tree trunks aligned vertically, with no spacing in between. The trunks were sharpened or pointed at the top, and were...
wall.