1909-1919

The history of Maillardville is inseparably bound to that of Fraser Mills, yet from the beginning, it has created its own unique heritage. The success of the French settlement founded in 1909 that eventually became known as Maillardville is rooted in its initial physical isolation, and the fact that for French Canadians of that era, culture, education and religion were intimately tied together. Another strong influence was an early recognition that their language and traditional way of life were threatened by the cultural isolation of living in a predominantly English society. In addition, the secession of Port Coquitlam and Fraser Mills from Coquitlam paved the way for a new City Hall to be located in Maillardville.

The remarkable strategy implemented by the Fraser River Lumber Company to import, and indeed transplant an entire community into a completely foreign environment, virtually guaranteeing their cultural, language and religious rights, was the first step toward the conception of Maillardville. One hundred years later, it continues to exist and, in some ways, to flourish. What was behind this strategy? What benefits did the Company hope to gain? At the time British Columbia was experiencing considerable racial tension. The young province was full of opportunity for industrial interests including, of course, logging and milling. B.C. being young and largely undeveloped, suffered from an acute labour shortage. To resolve this, many companies used labour from Japan, China and India. Eventually the numbers of these immigrants grew to a point that the local population felt threatened. From an economic point of view, it was felt that while "taking away" jobs from the locals, the immigrant workers contributed very little to the economy preferring instead to send their earnings back to family in their respective countries. Although the Fraser River Mills Company under new management in 1905 declared that "no Mongolian labour would be hired", they also admitted that they would be hard pressed to keep the Mill operational without them. Thus began the plan to resolve this unrest and unpredictability by the creation of a stable work force whose cultural and religious rights would be respected but would nonetheless fall largely under the sphere of the Company’s influence and control.

The stage is set. The Fraser River Lumber Company was located several miles from New Westminster. That City was well developed and able to provide for the economic needs of a new settlement that was in close proximity. The district around the mill itself from the River and up the hill was completely undeveloped. However, visible and distinct communities of Chinese, Japanese and East Indians had sprung up around the mill site. All this was situated within an English dominated society. The introduction of the French Canadians to this mixture, therefore, created an almost perfect microcosm of Canada with its French/English base and its multi cultural fabric.

That the fledgling French community was physically isolated is noteworthy. The Company  already had basic amenities, food, workclothes etc available at the millsite. Goods and services not found there could be had in New Westminster. Mill management was not prepared to invest futher in this type of commercial development and the merchants of New Westminster were supportive of this for obvious reasons. The tram from New Westminster stopped in Sapperton and one had to go by foot the rest of the way to Fraser Mills or Maillardville. Travelling to the city for shopping was something of an excursion. Therefore the early settlers were left to establish a few basic businesses along Pitt River Road (Brunette) and go to "town" only as necessary. This early isolation must have had a "cradling" effect on the French settlement, binding the newcomers even more closely by ties of language and religion.

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