Life in 1896 Agassiz: Mining Hopes, Farming Plans, and the Mysterious Sister Francis
Follow along with the British Columbian settlers, 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 them on how farming is going and everyday life
in Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada.
This post is all about life in British Columbia in 1896.
In May 1896, life in the Fraser Valley was a mix of hard work, uncertainty, and hope for the future. In this pair of letters from Agassiz, British Columbia, Harold, and Cecil Wright share vivid details of pioneer life during a wet and challenging spring. Harold writes from the home of Mrs. Agassiz, reflecting on his recovery, the kindness of neighbours, and the sudden departure of Miss Woods to the Lytton hospital recently left by the mysterious Sister Francis. Meanwhile, Cecil reports on the family’s farming progress, local excitement over newly discovered gold mines near Harrison Lake, and his ambitious plan to partner with ranchers in Vernon to winter cattle. These letters offer a rare and personal look at settler life in 1890s British Columbia during a time of both agricultural promise and gold rush speculation. Below, you’ll find the full transcriptions, along with historical notes on Sister Francis, local mining activity, and ranching in the BC Interior.
Letters Home to England
Harold’s Letter to Mother – May 1, 1896
Received May 11, 1896
Agassiz,
May 1, 1896
My dearest Mother,
I am staying with Mrs. Agassiz for a few days. She very kindly asked me to come & as they had arranged it with Miss Woods that she should go & stay at Hazeley meanwhile. I did not feel that I was deserting her.
Unfortunately, at the last minute, Miss Woods had to go up to Lytton; she has undertaken to look after the hospital there but did not expect to go so soon. Sister Francis used to run the hospital at Lytton but she quarreled with the others who were managing it & now she has nothing to do with it.
Father might be interested to hear that Cecil & Lane have come to grief. Mrs. Rich has gone back to England & Smith & Lane has gone up to the gold mines which have been discovered on Harrison Lake. They have got a claim up there but I don’t know how they mean to get the money to work it.
The Agassiz’s have been awfully good to me and insist on having breakfast in bed & treating me like an invalid, though as a matter of fact, I am quite recovered.
We are having a very wet spring & if we don’t have warm weather soon, I’m afraid all the snow will come down at once & there will be very high water.
With very much love from your affectionate son,
Harold.
Cecil’s Letter to Father- May 9th, 1896
May 9th, 1896
Dear Father,
We finished sowing the oats to-day, & as we have got the wheat in there is only the potatoes left to plant. We have 25 acres of wheat which looks very well. I think it is going to be a very good crop it is up about 3 inches. There is about 35 acres of oats. We should have had the seeding done some time ago only it has been such a wet spring that it has been too wet to seed. Everything is looking beautiful here now.
The grass is growing very fast in fact you can almost see it grow. Everybody is very excited here about mining Chnick & Westing (the two men Mr. Hamersley had to look after the place) have found a mine and always trying to sell me a claim but I tell them that it will pay us better to stick to farming and for them to start a mining camp close to here that we can sell our produce to. I don’t know where their mine is but I believe it is somewhere in easy distance of the farm.
They would not tell us anything about it yesterday as they had not got it recorded. I believe the outside rock went for $13 worth of gold per ton which is very good for the outside it takes $20 though to make it but I believe you hardly ever find outside rock go for much more than that.
I think this farm is about the best stock farm I have ever seen, but our difficulty is that we have not enough capital to stock to its full extent. But I think that I have hit on a plan that will overcome that to a great extent. The upcountry ranchers around Vernon can not buy up enough hay to winter their stock so as to bring them out in the spring so that in consequence beef is at its highest through February, March, April.
The ranchers in the upcountry are keen for farmers to take cattle down here from them in the fall, winter them, and then sell them. And then to go half shares with the sales, you see it would pay us both well for the beasts are worth $25 in the fall, and if they are well wintered & fat are worth $50 in the spring. But if they stay out in the ranches through the winter they lose 25 percent of the cattle, and what remains are worth little more than they were in the spring. I shall make inquiries about this & think if we could make a good bargain like this with some upcountry ranchers we could make more than if we sold the hay & sales.
With much love to all,
I remain your
aff. son
Cecil
Historical Notes
Sister Francis and the Lytton Hospital
Sister Francis was a well-known nursing figure in Lytton, British Columbia, who helped operate the Lytton Indian Hospital in the late 19th century. In Harold’s letter, we learn that she abruptly left the hospital due to a disagreement with its management. This incident reflects broader tensions in colonial-era healthcare, especially in mission-run hospitals serving Indigenous communities.
You can read more about her remarkable life and work here.
Mrs. Agassiz and the Agassiz Family
Harold is staying with Mrs. Agassiz, a member of the pioneering family for whom the town was named. The Agassiz family played a significant role in the early settlement and agricultural development of the Fraser Valley. Their hospitality also suggests the tight-knit social dynamics of rural settler communities in 1890s British Columbia.
Gold Mining at Harrison Lake
Both Harold and Cecil mention renewed excitement over gold mining activity at or near Harrison Lake. While this was not one of BC’s major gold rush regions, local discoveries occasionally sparked speculation. The Wright brothers’ cautious attitude toward mining reflects the broader reality: few struck it rich, and farming was seen as more sustainable. Cecil was right to be hesitant as no significant amount of gold ended up being mined in the area, instead, the area continues to be focused on agriculture.
Fraser Valley Weather and Flood Concerns
Harold’s mention of a wet spring and concerns about snowmelt flooding highlight a common seasonal anxiety in the Fraser Valley. In low-lying areas near the Fraser River, spring floods were frequent and often devastating, especially when warm weather followed a long winter snowpack. These concerns continue up until the present day. The most notable floods in the Fraser Valley were in 1948 and 2021 where thousands of people were directly impacted and many farm animals lost.
Cecil’s Spring Farming Progress
Cecil gives detailed updates about their seeding efforts, including 25 acres of wheat and 35 acres of oats. His optimism about the crop and attention to weather conditions provide a window into the challenges and rewards of early agricultural life in British Columbia. The town of Agassiz is still focused on agriculture and is well known for farming large crops including corn. The local saying for corn is” “Thigh High by the First of July!”
Wintering Cattle: A Creative Frontier Business Plan
In one of the letter’s most insightful passages, Cecil outlines a business proposal to winter cattle for ranchers in the BC Interior (near Vernon). This early example of agricultural entrepreneurship aimed to solve regional shortages in feed and facilities by turning their Fraser Valley land into a profitable wintering station. It’s a sharp contrast to the speculative gold rush investments happening around them.
Why These Letters Matter
These letters were nearly destroyed as they were passed through multiple sets of people to tell the story of the Wright family. After arriving at the Agassiz Harrison Museum, it was clear that these letters were rich in local history, captured the early years of the town with great specificity, and offered a peek into the family and settler life in 1896. Letters like these humanize the settler experience. They show the daily lives of the people who lived during this time and make it more relevant to people today.
Through transcription and research of these letters, new insights into settler life and the town have been discovered.
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These firsthand settler letters offer a rare look at daily life in 1890s British Columbia—from gold mining rumors to cattle ranching, hospital work, and the realities of farming on the frontier
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