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FEATURE STORY
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Chuck Davis, beloved keeper of Vancouver's historical flame and creator of this site, passed away after a long illness in the early hours of Saturday, November 20, 2010. Before leaving us, Chuck made arrangements with his publisher, Harbour Publishing, to oversee the completion of the History of Metropolitan Vancouver and maintain this web site for the foreseeable future. The book was completed by an all-star team of Chuck's colleagues and published November 15, 2011.
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VANCOUVER BOOKS Hundreds of books have been produced by Vancouver writers, and dozens more have been written about Vancouver. Now, researched exclusively for vancouverhistory.ca, Karen Cannon has compiled an annotated list of 945 Vancouver books. Ms. Cannon is a retired librarian. You'll make some fascinating discoveries in her collection. |
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Americans have had a major influence on the history of Metropolitan Vancouver. An American gave Vancouver its name! William Cornelius Van Horne, of Chelsea, Illinois, was the man who headed the CPR, the Canadian Pacific Railway that opened up the Canadian West... more »
April 26, 2011, marked Vancouver's 125th birthday. On that day 125 years earlier, the little sawmill community of Granville was reborn as the brand new city of Vancouver.
The story has often been told how the Canadian Pacific Railway chose to locate its Pacific terminus at Granville instead of Port Moody in return for a large land grant from the provincial government.
It was William Van Horne (left), the CPR's general manager, who apparently selected the name Vancouver, after the British naval explorer. In 1885 Lauchlin Hamilton, the company's chief surveyor, began laying out the townsite, beginning at the downtown corner of Hamilton and Hastings where a plaque now marks the spot.
According to Patricia Roy's illustrated history of the city, it is actually John Robson (left) who should be known as “the father of Vancouver”. Robson was the member of the legislature from New Westminster, the electoral district that included the future city, and the minister of finance in the provincial government. After he encouraged the residents of the area to incorporate, they struck a special committee to draw up a bill of incorporation, headed by R.H. Alexander, the manager of the Hastings Saw Mill. The bill was passed that spring of 1886 by the legislature and incorporation took place on April 6 at a modest ceremony at the home of Jonathan Miller, the town constable.
The City of Vancouver sponsored a full slate of events throughout its quasquicentennial year. And of course one of the biggest events was the launch of the book based on this website, Chuck Davis's The History of Metropolitan Vancouver, which was published in October, 2011 by Harbour Publishing.
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One of the more frequent requests we get—either at this site or at the Vancouver Historical Society site—is to explain the origin of a certain street name. Who was Hastings Street named for? How about Hornby? Or what’s the story behind the naming of Charles Street? Now, thanks to the Vancouver Historical Society, which commissioned the work from Elizabeth Walker, and to the Vancouver Public Library, which has put it on line, you can get the answers to those and other questions. Click here »
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Scottish influence in metropolitan Vancouver was important from the very beginning of our post-native history . . . and that’s not counting the statue of Robert Burns in Stanley Park, nor our first purpose-built library, the Carnegie, paid for by Scotland-born U.S. industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie... more »
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Site administrator and developer:
Quasar Design & Data Management Inc.
Original site design:
Stephanie
Davis
Photo accession and supplemental research:
Jim McGraw
Index page slideshow images:
Jason Vanderhill
Vancouver Books page:
Karen Cannon
Biographical research:
Constance Brissenden
Larry Loyie
Donna Jean MacKinnon
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Please note: For optimum viewing experience, set monitor resolution at 1024 x 768 pixels or higher.
FEATURE YEAR
1960
50 YEARS AGO
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| In 1960, Vancouver got its first independent TV station, BC ferries started to sail, the Second Narows Bridge opened and a massive blaze tested the fire department as no other had done before. More 1960 events » |
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The Museum of Vancouver has been remaking itself, and the results are worth a visit, both on line and in person. |
The BC Historical Federation has been keeping British Columbians well informed about their history for decades! |
The Vancouver Police Department has an excellent web site, including a page dedicated to fallen officers. |
The always interesting web site of the City of Vancouver Archives now includes fascinating moving images. |
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Chuck’s tome was up against some tough competition for the Bookseller’s Choice Award, beating out Eating Dirt by Charlotte Gill (Greystone Books in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation), Fred Herzog: Photographs by Fred Herzog (Douglas & McIntyre Publishers Inc.), Island Wineries of British Columbia by Gary Hynes (TouchWood Editions) and Walk Like a Man: Coming of Age with the Music of Bruce Springsteen.
