Letters from 1896: Gold Fever, Church Building, and Pioneer Life in Agassiz, BC
Follow along with the Wright siblings as they build a new life in Canada while farming on the land their parents had rented. Each week, they write back to their parents in England, updating on how the farming is going and everyday life
in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada.
This post is all about the early days of spring, the community efforts to build the church, and daily life while farming in the spring of 1896 in British Columbia, Canada.
In the spring of 1896, siblings Jack and May Wright wrote home to England from Agassiz, British Columbia, sharing updates from their early settler life. Their letters capture the rhythms of farm life, church-building efforts, and the ever-present allure of gold mining. May writes of a local trip to the lake, social visits with the Agassiz family, and a dramatic runaway wagon accident. Jack, meanwhile, raises a flag, discovers hidden chicks, and comments on the late arrival of spring. These firsthand accounts offer a rare window into colonial life in the Fraser Valley at a time when hope, hardship, and frontier resilience shaped British Columbia’s future.
Letters Home to England
Jack’s Letter to Father – May 9, 1896
Agassiz, May 9th, 1896
My dearest Father,
We have to-day had our first really fine day, we have others with no rain, but it has always been cloudy and unsettled till to-day. You will be pleased to hear that a new gold mine is started on an average every week, but unfortunately nobody has yet found gold in paying quantities, at least not near here. There is always too much rock to be crushed to get the gold out.
The boys will have a lot of chickens before long, they have about 30 young ones and they have, I think, six hens sitting, and others ready to sit. To-day Cecil & I found a hen hidden away in the hay with six chickens just hatched & eggs under her, I shall be curious to see how many she brings out.
They finished their weeding to-day, it has been so wet or they would have finished before. One man told me that he had not began yesterday so we are before some of our neighbours at any rate.
To-day I fixed up a flag pole on the roof of the home & hoisted the flag for the first time. Will you ask Mother if she knows of any book that gives directions for knitting patterns in stockings? Mrs. Agassiz wants to get hold of one; she told me when I was staying there. She wants to knit stockings to get money for the church. Mrs. Agassiz & the girls were awfully good to me while I was there, insisting on treating me as though I were a good invalid. They have got nearly all of the money for building the church & they are only waiting for the lumber to begin.
I had a letter from F____ the other day telling me that he had got home all right & was going out to India, but he did not say when.
The boys have all the cows on the prairie, they have given much more milk since they have been there & are getting fat. I’ve seen quite a lot of hummingbirds already which is strange as the spring has been so late.
With a great deal of love from your affectionate son.
Jack
May’s Letter to Mother – May 30, 1896
Rec’d June 17
Hazeley, Agassiz, British ColumbiaMay 30th, 1896
My dearest Mother,
We are going to be out all to-morrow so I shall have no time to write, it is not church Sunday so we, the Agassiz’s, Captain Moore & Mr. George are all going up to the lake for the day, we start at nine in the morning & could be back at about seven in the evening. Perfect.
A car load of lumber came up yesterday for the church, Harold happened to be at the station when it arrived, so he rode at once to tell Cecil who took in a team to help unload, and has to be done within twelve hours of the time it arrives or there is extra to pay, he got in about one o’clock & got home at about 9-30 at night, he was the only team there so it was fortunate he went & he has been there about ten hours to-day. He has just come back; almost all the teams in the valley are working on the Hot Springs Road & getting $5 a day so their owners would not take them a way to do church work; there was one other team working for a short term yesterday, but they ran away, smashed the wagon & hurt the man badly. I am very sorry for the man, as they say he is very poor & had just got a job that would bring him in $100, but now he has gone to the hospital instead & has got his wagon broken up.
There was a slide up at North Bend a few days ago. One train was stopped for 29 hours, & the next one for a short time, so the five passenger trains came through with only half an hour between them. They didn’t start any freight trans for Vancouver for two days, so six went through yesterday.
There are quantities of buttercups in one of our field, Edith Agassiz says she has never seen them anywhere except in our field & on Vancouver Island & they must have been planted as they are not natives of the country.
Nellie & Edith Agassiz came over yesterday afternoon & stayed until about nine o’clock. Edith & I went over to Mrs. Burhetts after tea to get her to sing for us. I wanted Edith to hear her. She has such a nice voice & is very musical; I offer to go over there for an hour in the evening after I have done my work, for a little music.
We have planted sweetpeas and canary creeper along the fence & they are both coming up well I have been pretty well off for flowers so far, as the Agassiz’s and Mr. Gibson often give me some; Edith gave me some lovely double white narcissus last Sunday.
Didn’t Cecil ever tell you that we didn’t consider Mr. Hamerseley’s wagon safe to use? It is so old, so we didn’t buy it, but bought one from Baker who was leaving the valley, also a sort of d_____ or light wagon from driving, it has only one seat at present but there is plenty of room for another. Cecil thinks of putting one later on, & also a pole so we can drive a team if we all want to go out together, their roads are too rough for driving in a wagon, it is really quite difficult for _______ being jolted out sometimes.
I really must stop because starting at nine means getting up very early to finish the work before we go. I like to leave everything quiet today. It is so horrid to come back at night & have a great deal of work to do. When _____ to go to the Hotel again, will you remember me to Charlotte & say I hope she is very well; & will you give my love to Mrs. Gallier & my congratulations to Mrs. de Want on West’s success.
With very much love
Your affectionate daughter,
May Wright
The boys are all very well, we have had very hot weather this week & they have b___ on the prairie several times.
These two letters, written just weeks apart, capture a rich and textured glimpse of settler life in Agassiz during the spring of 1896. Jack’s pride in raising a flag and discovering hidden chicks in the hay contrasts with May’s vivid description of church-building logistics, social outings, and floral generosity.
Their words reflect the balance between isolation and community, hard work and leisure, and the constant interplay between personal resilience and the broader colonial project. Whether through gold rush hopes, farm chores, or runaway wagons, these letters remind us how history lives not just in grand events, but in the everyday efforts to create a sense of home in an unfamiliar land.
