In 1916, William McRae made the decision to combine his passion for flying with his duty as a soldier. He leaves his family’s farm in Agassiz, British Columbia, and travelled to Vancouver to begin his miliary training. These letters from William McRae, a Royal Flying Corps pilot from…
This post concludes the Hazeley Letter series, a collection of family correspondence between 1896 and 1897 by the Wright family while living in Agassiz, British Columbia. Over the course of this series, these letters have allowed us a rare and personal glimpse into early colonial life in the…
A handwritten account of a Mount Cheam hike isn’t something you expect to find on official government letterhead, but that’s exactly what I came across in the archive at the Agassiz-Harrison Museum. At first it seemed to be a simple story of a hike of Mount Cheam, however,…
This post continues the Hazeley Letter series, a collection of family correspondence written in 1896-1897 by the Wright family living in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada. These letters provide a rare look into everyday settler life in the Fraser Valley during the early days of the community. By June…
This post explores the early history of Harrison Hot Springs and the families whose ambition and enterprise helped establish it in British Columbia’s formative years. In the early days of Harrison Hot Springs, life revolved around the lake, the new hotel that promised healing benefits, and the potential…
Travelling from Vancouver to Victoria in 1897 In May 1897, travel between Vancouver and Victoria meant boarding a coastal steamer and crossing the Strait of Georgia. In her letter written from James Bay, Victoria, May Wright briefly mentions crossing “on the Charmer,” giving us a small but meaningful…
This post traces the early days of Harrison Hot Springs and the families whose ambition and enterprise helped establish it in British Columbia’s formative years. Introduction The early history of Harrison Hot Springs is inseparable from the Brown and Agassiz families: names deeply rooted in the settlement and…
Mining camps become a part of the everyday sights for the Wright family as they experience the excitement of the gold rush and travel on Harrison Lake in British Columbia, Canada. This post is all about May and Harold Wright’s letters home about domestic labour, time on Harrison…
Family tension was high as not everyone was pulling their own weight to make their farm run smoothly. The Wright letters from Agassiz April 1897 show us what life was like for those settling in the Fraser Valley. This post examines a series of letters written in April…
Gold mining was in full swing in Agassiz and Harrison Lake in British Columbia in the 1890s. Thousands of prospectors arrived hoping to strike it rich, while local residents continued on their daily lives and adapted to changes. This post explores the dangers and changes experience by gold…