Bose Farm Corn Maze in Surrey
byThis past weekend there was a Tweetup at the Bose Farm Corn Maze (or Maize Maze) in Surrey. The Bose farm has been around for generations and its decision to create a corn maze for the last few years has been a very popular one.
The Bose Family’s influence on the City of Surrey is such that 64th Avenue is also known as Bose Road. In 1892 Henry Bose bought the land now known as Fry’s Corner (or the corner of Fraser Hwy and 176th) but when it was unable to produce, he scooped up 160 acres where Bose Farm now sits off 64th.
Many of Surrey’s byways have old wagon road route names such as Bose Road, Hjorth Road (104th), and Johnston Road (152nd). The Bose Family Home is considered a heritage home in Surrey and was built between 1899 and 1907. In 1969 the farm was split between the two Bose sons, Harry and Norman. To this day the farms continue to operate under both Bose families [source].
Unfortunately this was a headline in The Province newspaper last July: “Historic Bose farm in Surrey sold for townhouse project: One of the earliest and most prominent heritage sites in Surrey — the 116-year-old Bose Farm — has been sold by the family and is now on a developer’s drawing board as the site for a major townhouse project.”
Apparently the usable land for the townhouse development is pretty small in comparison and the City is still making an effort to preserve the historic buildings on site.
City Council agenda action items for September 14, 2009 included:
“Henry Bose (Meadow Ridge) Farm, 6390 – 64 Avenue, Development Application No. 7907-0115-00. That Council approve the Heritage Revitalization Agreement (HRA) (Appendix II) for the Bose Farm, barn, dairy and farmhouse, provided that any outstanding revisions are acceptable to the General Manager, Planning, and that a temporary coroplast “heritage proposal†sign be placed at the site as soon as possible and a permanent interpretative heritage sign at completion of the renovation project.”
Although it’s a harvest-time hub of activity with the maze, hay jump, pumpkin patch exploration, and campfires (complete with marshmallows) it’s important to recognize the historic significance of this site. This is how Surrey was built; with wagon roads, trailblazers, farmers and families. Check out the corn maze this year if you can, just exit Highway 1 and take Johnston Road past Yale Road and turn left on Bose Road. Or you can exit Highway 1 at Clover Valley Road and take that all the way to Bose Road where you’ll turn right.
