As we were taking a stroll down Dunsmuir Street in Cumberland this weekend, Keira was filling me in on all of the regional history. I realized that even though I’ve profiled the origins of street names in Vancouver, I have never mentioned Dunsmuir and the family’s impact around the province. Aside from the street traversing […]

Samuel Brighouse was one of the earliest settlers on Burrard Inlet (he was one of the Three Greenhorns) and in later years also had a farm on Lulu Island in Richmond.

Last night on the Vancouver Sun’s site I came across a list of “British Columbia’s Best: A quest to determine the most influential person in BC’s history.” In November 2008 a poll including hundreds of names was setup and the results were then revealed in early January 2009 (while we were away in Iowa). Photo […]

I’ve ramped up my history series lately including several little tidbits by request, which is always fun to research and scope out. This afternoon I was browsing VancouverHistory.ca (the ultimate source for archival facts, tales and anecdotes) and I decided to browse the “1909” section. Here’s a taste of what I found out about our […]

I recently received a new comment on my John Henry Cambie post from last May and I was inspired to look up a few more names, particularly those who have streets named after them. Photo credit: takashi on Flickr Abbott I used to work on Abbott street, which runs from the waters edge in Gastown […]

Continuing my History Tidbits series we’ll explore the history of the McBarge, as requested by @TylerIngram. The McBarge floated into town in 1986 when Vancouver hosted the world for Expo, which began in the spring of and ran until the fall. Commemorating Vancouver’s centennial, it was the last world’s fair in North America, “it is […]

A few weeks ago I was trying to come up with a

The other day I wanted to put up a post about some local history but I wasn’t exactly sure which direction to go. I put the call out on Twitter and received some great questions and responses so I created this tidbits series. @jbuffoonery – Asked about Vancouver’s neon history I wrote my own post […]

I was struggling to find inspiration this morning although I knew I wanted to publish a history post this week. I put the call out on Twitter and received several inquiries about Vancouver history landmarks and tidbits. Since the response was so great, this will be a new series of user-generated responses to local history […]

Those who frequent this site often may notice that I have a bit of a passion for all things history in and around Vancouver. This weekend a very special event is taking place in the downtown Eastside (our city’s oldest neighbourhood) and everyone is welcome to join in person or online. Start Time: Saturday, February […]