A Brief History of FORT LANGLEY

From 1827 to 1833, Fort Langley played a major role in the British coastal offensive against the American traders. More than half of the 3,000 beaver collected by the Hudson's Bay Company on the coast in 1831, were from the new Fraser River establishment. Under the astute direction of Chief Trader Archibald McDonald, Langley systematically undersold its American competitors and soon commanded the trade with Indian tribes throughout Vancouver Island, the Fraser River and Puget Sound.

As its immediate area became exhausted, Fort Langley's primary function shifted from fur collecting to provisioning. A network of posts and vessels was gradually built up to expand the Company's control of the coast and the Langley fishery and farm supplied many of their basic needs.

Salmon, abounding in the Fraser River, had long been a staple of coast Indian and fur trader, and could be cheaply traded with the Indians for "vermilion, rings and other trifles". Salting and packing salmon became an industry under Chief Trader McDonald and his successor James Murray Yale. By 1838 Langley supplied all the salt salmon required by the Company's operations west of the Rockies. As the Hudson's Bay Company became linked to the wider commerce of the Pacific, Langley-cured salmon found its way to markets in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and Australia.

Farming was begun on the fertile prairie 11 kilometres from the fort, in the area then known as Langley Prairie. Crops were frequently washed out in the low-lying land, but the agricultural operations steadily expanded until the Langley farm covered over 800 hectares. Producing potatoes, barley, peas and wheat and maintaining a stock of 200 pigs and 500 head of cattle, it supplemented the produce of many Pacific forts and provided food for the SS Beaver and other Company vessels.

In 1839, the Hudson's Bay Company agreed to lease the Alaskan Panhandle from the Russian American (Fur) Company for an annual rent in otter skins and specified farm products. Fort Langley was called upon to produce wheat and butter for the Russian contract. In order to facilitate farming operation, the original fort, now in a dilapidated condition, was abandoned and a new one built four kilometers upstream, closer to the large prairie.

New Fort Langley had been occupied just ten months when it was consumed by fire and had to be completely rebuilt. In May, 1840, construction commenced on a new complex which eventually enclosed an area 192 by 73 meters and contained three to four bastions and about 15 buildings. It is on this site that the present reconstruction has been made.

Two decades of intense activity followed the establishment of the new fort. Grain production increased, beef and pork were salted for the Company ships and two dairies were kept in full production. Salted salmon continued to be popular in the Sandwich Islands and an annual export of 2,000 barrels was not uncommon in the years between 1845 and 1854. Cranberries traded from the Indians and packaged at Fort Langley sold at substantial profits in San Francisco.

When the Company established Fort Victoria as future Pacific headquarters in 1843, Langley's Chief Trader Yale felt the importance of his post was being undermined. He so resented the supremacy of the nearby fort that he misjudged its effect. In fact, the reorganization of HBC Pacific operations occasioned by the settlement of the Oregon boundary in 1846 increased the value of Fort Langley.

The international line drawn at the 49th parallel limited Company access to the Columbia-Okanagan supply route, just as Simpson had predicted, and forced a re-examination of the Fraser River as a possible artery to the interior. By 1848, a new route for the fur brigade was established by horse from Fort Kamloops through the Cascade Mountains to Fort Hope and from there by the flat-bottomed cargo boat or bateau down the Fraser. Fort Langley, at the head of navigation, became the transshipment depot for the interior, finally making Simpson's plan for the Fraser a reality.

_{Fur trade items photo courtesy of
J. Gottfred, Northwest Brigade Club.}

The urgent duties of brigade terminus were added to the normal occupations of fishery and farm. Trade goods and supplies shipped from Fort Victoria were packed at Fort Langley for distribution inland; bateaux were built for river freighting to Fort Hope; iron goods were manufactured for inland forts; and provisions and fodder were grown for the horse brigades. In addition, outgoing furs were sorted, cleaned and packed in 113-kilogram (90 pound) bales for shipment to England.

In 1858, Fort Langley achieved world fame as the starting point for the Fraser River gold fields. In March of that year news reached San Francisco that gold had been discovered in the sand bars of the upper Fraser, and within eight months 30,000 prospectors had poured into the area. The Fort Langley post became crowded with strangers eager for news of the latest discoveries, and its sale shop, issuing miners' tools and provisions, had a daily turnover of $1,500.

During the "rush", James Douglas, Governor of Vancouver Island and manager of the Hudson's Bay Company's Pacific business, took prompt action to secure British sovereignty and enforce the Company's trade monopoly. Yet the licensing system which he introduced was clearly insufficient to permanently govern the growing population. The era of fur trade guardianship was drawing to a close. In August 1858, the British Parliament revoked the Company's monopoly and passed an act providing for a crown colony on the Pacific mainland. James Douglas was named first Governor of British Columbia.

The "Big House" at Fort Langley provided the background for the official ceremony proclaiming the establishment of British Government on the Pacific mainland. On November 19, 1858, 100 people assembled in the hall to hear the announcement that the Company's license was revoked and to witness the administration of oaths to the officers of the new government. Outside, a 17-gun salute, which pierced the drizzling quiet, marked the historic transition from fur trade domain to British Colony.

The inaugural ceremony at once honoured Fort Langley and signalled its decline. The Hudson's Bay Company received title to land at Fort Langley in 1864 but the revocation of its monopoly created competition for the fishery and farm. In 1858, navigation was extended to Forts Hope and Yale, and Fort Langley's function both as mining supplier and transshipment depot abruptly ceased. The selection of New Westminster as the capital pushed Fort Langley "out of the way of travellers".

In the 1860's, the Fort Langley farm was expanded to support the Hudson's Bay Company's overland transport service to the Cariboo. Local competition was very strong, however, and from 1870 the land was offered for sale or lease. Company officers considered it "the finest land in British Columbia" and terms were kept stringent. Since no one could pay enough for the whole property, the farm was subdivided. Four lots were sold at auction in Victoria in 1878 and the rest by private sale over the next eight years.

After 1858, the fort fell slowly into disrepair. The palisade was dismantled in 1864, and by 1871 the blacksmith shop had been converted into a dwelling and the cooperage to a saleshop. A year later, the "Big House" was pulled down and a new residence built for the post manager. Finally, in April 1886, a new Hudson's Bay Company saleshop was constructed in the nearby village and Fort Langley ceased operations as a company post.

In May 1923, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada declared Fort Langley to be of national historic importance and erected a commemorative plaque near the surviving fort structure. Fort Langley was established as a National Historic Park in May 1955, and the process of restoration was begun for celebration of the centennial of the Colony of British Columbia.

Today, Fort Langley belongs to the system of National Parks and Historic Sites operated by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Parks Canada. Interpretive staff and volunteers provide a glimpse of the past, answering questions, providing demonstration and discussion of the time when Fort Langley was the focal point of the world. For more information, visit the site in person and experience the past that was Fort Langley.