Between a train crash, a wagon accident, dances, and flooding. July 1896 proves to be an unusually eventful month for the Wright Siblings and the other settlers in Agassiz.

This post is all about the train crash, raising waters, a wagon accident, and too many mosquitos.

The Wright siblings arrived from England in July Agassiz BC 1896. They dreamed of starting a new life farming in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada. Each week they faithfully wrote home to their parents in England. Their letters captured both their daily routines and the unexpected challenges of pioneer life.

July Agassiz BC 1896 was anything but ordinary. Rising flood waters threatened their crops.
The same waters threatened their homes. A deadly train crash shook the community.
A wagon accident added to their hardships. Swarms of relentless mosquitoes made daily chores almost impossible.

Below, you can read their letters, just as they were written almost 130 years ago. They offer a glimpse into the dangers—and the resilience settlers needed in the Fraser Valley at the end of the 19th century.

The Letters

May’s Letter to Mother

July Agassiz BC 1896

My dearest Mother, 

If I begin on the subject of the water I shall forget everything else. I will leave that till later on. The church things have came quite safely, nothing was hurt at all. I think they are lovely & so do the Agassiz’s & Mr. Jemmett. They will be in time for the opening, as the church is not finished yet.

We left the 1st quite f—, we had a luncheon party here, Mr. Jemmett & Leonard, Mrs. Fred Brown, Nellie & Edith Agassiz, Ms. Collins. Mr. & Mrs. Sands, Mr. George, after lunch the men bathed on the prairie Harrison & came back for tea at four. Mrs. Brook had rushed us all to go to the Springs for a dance, so I walked out with her & the Agassiz’s went home to dress and start from there & the remainder had another meal here; Jack, Harold, Mr. George, & Mr. Sands drove in one wagon. In one place the water was over the road so that the soil was washed away, and one of the horses entirely disappeared in the water, but they all arrived safely.  They had a lovely dance, and all of the hotel servants played very well. We kept it up until two o’clock. I stayed all night & came to the station on the morning stage. Captain Moore came in on the train & I walked to the Agassiz’s with him and he came over here in the afternoon.

As to the water, well nobody knows what it is going to do. Mr. Hamersley came here in the morning and said he thought the water was sure to raise to-day there could be a flood, then he went over to Mr. Sands and told him to weight down anything that could float on his place. The water is just one big lake & our oats & potatoes are covered, also about half the hay; about halfway between here & the track the water is deep enough to carry a boat & Jack & I went down in one yesterday and walked down the track to see an accident it have had there.

The trains have not been running properly for more than a week as a bridge has given way at Revelstoke & no train can come from the East. On Thursday afternoon a very long came from Vancouver with all the “Empress” people, five pullman’s & Friday afternoon a long passenger train went through & on Friday night at night at nine o’clock, just as I was going to bed. I heard a freight coming up. I heard it cross the bridge just the side of the tunnel & suddenly stop, then I heard another move for about ten minutes, then I heard the section men’s car go down, & then an engine; we didn’t know anything more until the morning, when Harold went to see what was up & found that about a mile down the track a piece of the line had been completely washed away & the engine & nine cars had run right into the water. Nothing was to be saved of the cargo except the — of the —, there were five men in charge of the train. One was killed, but the others were slightly injured, how they escaped, I can’t think, it was a miracle.

With love from your affectionate daughter, 

May Wright.

May’s Letter to Mother

We have just got your letter saying you are sending off the Church things.

If you are sending a parcel, Cecil would be very glad if you could send the 1st volume of “Barnaby Ridge” which he left behind. If you find it & others if you can find my photography of Lucy’s wedding. I think that would be very acceptable to Cecil. If you could send him some white canvas shirts that would not want starching & would look nice in the afternoon.

Your affectionate daughter,

May Wright

May’s Letter to Mother

Rec’d July 30th

Hazeley, 
July 12th Agassiz BC 1896

My dearest Mother, 

I am glad to say the river is going down, but we still have to through water to get to Agassiz; I walked in by the mountain road with Jack & the water was half way up to my knees in some places; my gum boots have been most useful; the water is too shallow for us to boat on the top of the hay now; but it is deeper between here & the stable, up nearly to Jacks’ waist in places. 

We are very busy rehearsing for the concert, we (Jack & I) are suppose to go to-morrow as it is washing day. Jack goes to Yale next Sunday & on the next day, it is getting dreadfully near. Cecil has got a sweet little puppy from Burhett he has learnt that I will have him in the house, but he continues to be very mischievous outside.

The boys have hired Mr. George to come for stacking. The trains are very irregular. Some days there are one, & some days several.

With much love,

Your affectionate daughter, 

May Wright. 

May’s Letter to Mother – July 21, 1896

Received August 6

Hazeley
July 21st Agassiz BC 1896

My dearest Mother,

I have been so very busy that I have not been able to write my Sunday letter till to-day. We had the concert last Thursday, it was an unfortunate time to have chosen as the heat & mosquitos kept a good many people away & a good many others were far too — in the hay to be able to leave, but we made $30 which was not too bad, it all went off very well, they were — short of performers for the concert part so Harold & I both sang, the play was very much appreciated; by the time it was over it was quite cool & nice in the hall & we had quite a jolly little dance.

Jack drove the Hot Springs party home and stopped there all night, & I stopped with the Agassiz, Harold, Cecil, Mr. Sands,& Mr. Burhett drove home in our wagon, it was a pitch dark night & the wheel caught on a stump about a mile from home, it caught with such force that the double tree was broken & Cecil was pulled out by the reems & got rather a nasty cut on his head, but it is going on very well. He is going up to the Springs to-morrow to have the stitches taken out. Jack left on Sunday, Harold & I went in with him to church in the morning & went to lunch with the Agassiz’s.

Harold had to come home directly afterwards to see to the animals etc., & I stopped till after train time, as Mr. George promised to drive me home, which he did & stopped the night, & yesterday he worked all day on the mover for Cecil & refused to be paid it was very kind of hm, especially as he was supposed to be working for Burkett, he is coming to us on Saturday if he can manage it.

For about —– weeks it has been intensely hot, & for more than a fortnight the mosquitos have been a perfect terror, they were bad in Manitoba but they are ten thousand times worse here, the only way we have been able to endure it all is by burning —- power in all the rooms & so keeping the house full of smoke, & we have had two weed fer— in the verandah, & two near the stable; but yesterday afternoon at half past four a wind suddenly got up & by seven the mosquitos had gone, & we were able to open the doors & windows, in the night it rained & all to-day the wind has been high; Burkett says that if it keeps up like this we for three days we shall have no more mosquitos, so I hope it will, but if the wind drops they will be worse than ever.

On Monday, I sent for Choy to do the washing, but he utterly refuses to do any was till the mosquitos have gone, so I had to send it to the wash chainman, that is such an expensive way of doing it, as he will charge $2.50 & does not wash at all well, not nearly as well as I do myself. I can’t get the raspberries picked, it does seem a pity; I asked Mr. George to tell Choy to be sure & come to-morrow to pick as I can’t be bothered with mosquitos what if the wind keeps up. I hope Jack will arrive home looking well, he looked wonderfully well when he left here, far better than when he was at home.

Your affectionate daughter,

May Wright

Cecil’s Letter to Father – July 21, 1896

July 21, Agassiz BC 1896

Dear Father,

We have had a long spell of bad luck. The water has I am afraid spoiled the greater part of the hay and all of the oats. So we have only the wheat to fall back on. The water is going down now but it has brought any quantity of mosquitos which has made it very bad for the cows as they have worried them so that they only give about half their usual quantity of milk. And then to end up with I got chucked out of the wagon. That was very bad luck because I might drive down that hill & run into a rock a thousand times & nothing happened. But as it was, the double tree broke which it had no right to do & as the horses stepped up they jerked me right out of the wagon. I will try and explain what the double tree is.

So you see that if the double tree breaks the horses can go where they like they are quite free. As it was a very hard hill I had a very firm hold of them so that when they stopped up they pulled me right out of the wagon. I am very much better but I am afraid that I shall not be able to do any work for a day or two.

with love to all,
I remain,
Your aff. son
Cecil Wright

The Church and Community Gatherings

The unfinished Anglican church that was championed by Mrs. Agassiz, was of great importance in the community. The Wright’s came from a long line of reverends and priests, so it was only natural for their parents to send over gifts for the new church. In this case, it was brass candlesticks. As you can read in May’s letters, they had a active social life which included singing and dancing, trips to the hot springs, luncheons, and teas.  Through the letters you can feel the strong sense of community that was already being established.

The Train Crash

May’s July 1896 letter tells of a devastating train crash near Agassiz, BC. Rising floodwaters washed out the railway tracks, causing a derailment that killed one man and injured several others. This accident not only brought tragedy to the community but also disrupted transportation routes across the province during a time when rail was British Columbia’s most vital connection.

Fraser Valley Flood History

The Raising Waters of 1896

The Fraser Valley flood history is significant. After the flooding for 1896, it also flooded in 1948 and 2021. To this day, you can’t get flood insurance because the likelihood of flooding is so high. May’s concern was very valid, because she ended losing multiple crops during the floods and one horse that went into the water and wasn’t seen again.

The Flood of 1948

Only 50 years later, Agassiz was flooded again, but this time Agassiz was far more populated than during the Wright’s time there. In 1948 the flood forced the evacuation of 16,000 people, destroyed or damaged 2,300 homes, and caused millions of dollars in damage. This flooding was caused by the run-off of melting snow from the surrounding mountains. It was spring time, and a hot spell caused the snow to melt faster than the the dikes were able to handle. On May 26th, 1948 the dikes broke at 2 a.m., and flooded 1,000 acres of farmland at record speed.  Just as in the accident in 1896, the waters flooded the train tracks cutting Agassiz off.  The below photograph is an aerial photo of Agassiz at the time.

Fraser Valley Flood of 2021

The most recent flood in Agassiz happened only a few years ago, making it the only major one in my lifetime. The video below shows what the community looked like during that event. One of the most significant moments came when two mudslides struck the surrounding highway, trapping 275 people between them.

Editorial Policy