History

img: BCARS PDP 00501 1871 Canadian Confederation With a gun salute and trumpets and horns, British Columbia entered the Canadian Confederation in 1871. Canada got its western coastline, and BC its debt removed and a trans-Canada railway.

img; Vancouver Public Library, Special Collections, VPL 151. H.T. Devine photo 1871 First Post Office Vancouver’s first postmaster was Maximilian “Maxie” Michaud, who made the astounding trip from Montreal to Vancouver by foot, arriving in July 1869.

img: Dominion Photo Co. photo, Vancouver Public Library VPL 24322 1870 Gastown Vancouver began with a saloon.

img: City of Vancouver Archives, St Pk N4 1868 Coal Harbour An early view of downtown, this image shows a First Nations dwelling in what is now trendy Coal Harbour, close to Robson and Georgia Streets.

img: City of Vancouver Archives, Mi P47 1867 Lumber ships After Sew Moody and Captain Stamp started sawmills in the 1860s, Burrard Inlet filled with windjammers loading lumber. View the entire Metro Vancouver History 365 Series HERE .

img: BC Mining Museum 1862 Barkerville In 1862, prospector Billy Barker discovered gold in Williams Creek, leading to the foundation of Barkerville, a gold-rush town that grew to be the largest in western Canada for a short time.

img: City of Vancouver Archives, Bo P354. Photo S.J. Thompson 1836 SS Beaver Don’t be too quick to judge this ship by its appearance.

Jim McKenzie illustration 1791 Before Vancouver Difficult as it is to imagine now, this is the landscape that young Spanish explorer José Maria Narváez would have seen when he arrived in the Vancouver area in 1791, beating British Captain George Vanc

The Beaty Biodiversity Museum’s ambitious project, 100 Years, 100 Treasures , is about celebration. It celebrates the heart of the museum’s collection, the history that brought it together, and the community that makes it all happen.

The modern Canadian city was made possible by our First Wave of Urban Reform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjwZxXzGHXk Sam Sullivan is publishing 3 minute video blogs on British Columbia history and issues.