Repairing the Farm, Building the Church, and Picnics in the Harrison: Hazeley Letters from June 1896

From building the new church to repairing the farm buildings,  the Wright siblings take you along during their first June in Agassiz, British Columbia.

This post is all about building a community, exploring Vancouver, and working on their farm in Agassiz, British Columbia

In these letters, Cecil and Harold share with their parents their daily lives at the farm. Although Harold may lament about turning a profit and the difficulties of finding buyers for his butter, he manages to escape to the city of Vancouver for a day of furniture shopping and taking a tour of the Empress of India.  The siblings journeyed here on a ship from the White Star Line called the RMS Majestic, and as he writes home, it is still his preferred line of ships.

 

Letters Home

Harold’s Letter to Mother – Sunday

Dear Mother,

We have now shaken down and got the whole place into working order. It is certainly a lovely place and the mountains round are grand. If we could to build a new house and make a nice English garden it would be the best farm I have ever seen in Canada. The great objection to the place is that we are three miles from the station and the roads are simply awful.

The work is not so hard as I expected it is to be as we have only got four cows milking. Still we have to get up very early. I had better give you an idea of how we spend out day, we get up at 5 and go and do the chores, have breakfast at half past six, then Cecil starts out to plough and I take the milk to a camp of surveyors about two miles away it is a small order about $1 a week but it opens the ledger on the right side.  When I come back I work round the place feeding the two calves and the chickens.

Then I start upon a a work that I am afraid will take months to finish, that is clearing up the place. I have never seen a place so neglected as this place. The garden and orchard have had nothing done to them for years past and wherever you go in the buildings you come to spades, forks, shovels and other tools lying about with their handles broken. It seems to be that whenever they broke a handle they got the whole thing new. I have now got together enough things that should last us a year.

I am glad to say people have been very good in coming to call on May. She has had several visitors already. I must now write anymore now as Cecil is waiting to milk, so good bye Mother darling. With heaps of love to yourself and father and all the rest

I am
Your loving son
Harold.

 

{Related Post: Setting Sail on the RMS Majestic}

Cecil’s Letter to Mother-June 2, 1896

Received June 18th, 1896
June 2nd
Tuesday

Dear Mother, 

We all went up to the Hot Spring last Sunday. The Agassiz’s gave a picnic. Captain Moore, ourselves, the Agassiz’s & a very young fellow called George made up the group.

Later, we met up at the station to the lot where they are going to build the church a lot of the farmers had promised to bring teams but only one beside myself turned up & after he had drawn two loads his team ran away and smashed his wagon all to pieces. He cut & bruised his face, and they have sent him to Westminster Hospital. So I had to do all the teaming.

I was there for a day & a half.

Your aff.

Son Cecil Wright.

 

Harold’s Letter to Father- June 2, 1896

Received June 18, 1896
June 2nd, Hazeley, B.C.

Dear Father,

I have been down to Vancouver for a few days. I had to go down to see some people about selling our cream and I thought it was best to stay a few days as I was down there and I did not know when I should get again.
I enjoyed myself very much. I did not do much the last day I was there. The “Empress of India” came in and I got a pass to go over her, and I do not like her half as much as the White Star Line.

Last Sunday we all went for a picnic with the Agassiz’s up to Harrison. It was all right going as it was not Church Sunday. Jack has quite recovered from his accident, the doctor took great care of him and we made him stay in bed. We have got about 60 chickens out now and a lot more hens sitting. The other day we found a hen sitting on 20 eggs she has since brought out 28 and another one has brought our 16. Mr. Probert has given us a sitting of duck eggs and we have got 4 out and the hen is still sitting on the rest. At the end of this week I am going out to the mines with Church to help him stake out claims he is going to pay me 1.50 a day but we shall have to sleep out on the mountains as it is far to come home at night. Cecil and I are putting in the garden now, the potatoes we brought out are well up and are the best I have seen in the place.

With much love from your affectionate son
Harold.

All Saint’s Church, Agassiz: A Lasting Legacy Since 1896

Over 130 years later, All Saint’s Church in Agassiz – the very church that Mrs. Agassiz organized and fundraised for, and that Cecil helped build by hauling lumber is still standing today. It was built in Agassiz in 1896 on land donated by Mrs. C. Agassiz for the cause. The church was built for $1, 127.33 (in 1896 $) and many friends and family members living in England, such as the parents of the Wright siblings, contributed donations of money and various other items for the church. Opening day of the church on August 23, 1896 included the baptisms of the new children of the parish: Maynard Fooks, Stanley George Kirby, and Frank, Beatrice, Carl, and Irene Inkman.

May’s friend and neighbour Eleanor “Nellie” Agassiz and Captain William Moore were the first wedding to take place in the church.

Labyrinth

As the church is located only a couple of minutes down the road from the Agassiz-Harrison Museum where I volunteer. I went to take a look around the outside of the church. The labyrinth was beautiful. I enjoyed walking around it and took some time to sit down and think about where I was. With the transcribing and researching these letters, I find myself so immersed and connected with the family. Sitting next to something they helped build and visited was very peaceful. When I am at the Museum, I also look out the window and see the same view of Mt. Cheam as May, Cecil, Harold, and Jack would have been looking at. Agassiz has grown over time, but not by much. It is still a very small town that focuses on agriculture. You are able to look around and visualize the stories from the Hazeley Letter Series.

The labyrinth is open to all, day or night, as a place to seek peace and clarity. Its design encourages you to walk slowly and mindfully while you meditate or pray with the intention of finding answers or a sense of calm by the time you complete it.

 

{Related Article – New Spiritual Opportunity at Agassiz Church}

Transportation in 1896 Agassiz: From Wagons to the Railway Station

In 1896, transportation was a major challenge. The Wright siblings lived three miles from the Agassiz train station, and the roads were described as “simply awful.” This section explores the transportation options available in Agassiz during the late 19th and early 20th Century, from the Canadian Pacific Railway station to carriages that connected the farms and the rest of the Fraser Valley. The two primary ways into Agassiz were via train and by water. Not everyone was as brave as the Agassiz family, who put all their possessions on a raft attached to their canoes, and floated down the river with everything they owned plus their LITTLE KIDS down the rushing Fraser River from Yale to Agassiz. There was a steamship that came in from Vancouver, but it wasn’t a regular option. Once inside Agassiz, people travelled by horses and wagons within the town and out to Harrison.

 

Why Agassiz Received Lumber from New Westminster Instead of Harrison Mills

The closest lumber mill to Agassiz was in Harrison Mills, which was only about 15 kilometers away from the station, however the lumber arrived from the mill in New Westminster which was closer to 100 kilometers away. At the time, New Westminster was a main shipping and commercial hub with a direct railway connection to Agassiz via the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Below is the Agassiz station as it was in the 1890s when the Wright siblings were helping to build the Church and as it is now in 2025. The Agassiz station has been moved to the opposite side of the tracks and is now the very museum that holds the original Hazeley letters and much more. I walk through the same doorways, and up the same stairs, and look out the same upstairs windows. This enabled large shipments to be delivered reliably and efficiently to Agassiz. In contrast, the roads between Agassiz and Harrison Mills were muddy and and unreliable, so in the end the distance matter less than dependable infrastructure. The wagon accident above is just one example of the difficulties of transporting materials locally.

 

Why The Hazeley Letters Are A Treasure of Agassiz History

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.

Explore More Pioneer Letters and Stories

If you enjoyed these letters from June 1896, you might also like:

• Those Named in the Hazeley Letters

• 1896 Letters from British Settlers: The Wright Siblings Begin Their Journey to Canada

• Letters from Hazeley Ranch: Daily Life in 1896 Agassiz and Harrison Lake

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

Follow @BCHistoryDiary to get the latest letters, stories, and behind-the-scenes research.

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