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History of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Journey back in time to New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Visit New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Discover its history. Learn about the people who lived there through stories, old newspaper articles, pictures, postcards and genealogy.
New Westminster, BC, incorporated as a city in 1860, is located on the north bank of the FRASER RIVER, 20 km east of Vancouver. Surveyed by the Royal Engineers and named by Queen Victoria, "The Royal City" was established in 1859 by Governor James DOUGLAS as the capital of British Columbia.
New Westminster, western Canada's oldest city, was the mercantile centre and the transportation hub on the mainland during and after the FRASER RIVER and CARIBOO gold rushes, but never displaced VICTORIA's overall dominance, due to the latter's easier access to ocean shipping. In 1868, the Legislative Council chose Victoria as the permanent capital of the recently united colonies of BC and Vancouver Island.
Although New Westminster secured a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) branch line in 1886, the completion of the main line to Vancouver in 1887 further relegated it to secondary rank. Nevertheless the city remained an important freshwater port, a major lumber producer, a salmon canning centre, a commercial centre for the Fraser Valley and an administrative and service headquarters with such institutions as the County Court, the BC Penitentiary, the Provincial Mental Hospital and the Royal Columbian Hospital. The city also secured rail links to the United States via the Great Northern Railway and Fraser River Railway Bridge (1904); to the eastern Fraser Valley via the BC Electric Railway (1910); and to eastern Canada via the Canadian National Railway (1915).
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
There is MUCH more to discover about New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. Read on!
- 1859 - New Westminster named capital of B.C.
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm - 1860 - Church of St. Peter established in New Westminster
www.gcatholic.org 
Church of St. Peter
398 Royal Ave., New Westminster, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Originally established in 1860
Photograph- 1873
NEW WESTMINSTER, the former capital of British Columbia, is beautifully situated on the north bank of the Eraser River, 85 miles from Victoria. Lat....Read MORE... - 1895 - New Westminster
New West'minster, the former capital of British Columbia, is situated on the Fraser River, it miles from its mouth, 85 miles N.N.E. of Victoria. Lat. ...Read MORE... - 1898 - The City of New Westminster was visited by a destructive fire.
Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906 
Ewen's Salmon Cannery, Near New Westminster. On line of C.P.R.
Postcard- 1906
New Westminster, a port of entry and former capital of British Columbia, is situated on the Fraser River, 15 miles from its mouth and 80 miles NNE....Read MORE... 
Fraser River Bridge, New Westminster, B.C.
Postcard
Columbia Street, New Westminster, B.C.
Postcard- 1941 - Church of the Holy Spirit established in New Westminster
www.gcatholic.org
Old Photos, Pictures, Advertisements and Postcards from New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Church of St. Peter
398 Royal Ave., New Westminster, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Originally established in 1860
Photograph
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Ewen's Salmon Cannery, Near New Westminster. On line of C.P.R.
Postcard
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Fraser River Bridge, New Westminster, B.C.
Postcard
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Columbia Street, New Westminster, B.C.
Postcard
RootsMagic 7 Family Tree Genealogy Software by RootsMagic
History and News of New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
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1859 - New Westminster named capital of B.C.
www.worldatlas.com/ webimage/ countrys/ namerica/ province/ bcztimeln.htm
-
1860 - Church of St. Peter established in New Westminster
www.gcatholic.org
-
1873
NEW WESTMINSTER, the former capital of British Columbia, is beautifully situated on the north bank of the Eraser River, 85 miles from Victoria. Lat.... Read MORE...
-
1895 - New Westminster
New West'minster, the former capital of British Columbia, is situated on the Fraser River, it miles from its mouth, 85 miles N.N.E. of Victoria. Lat. ... Read MORE...
-
1898 - The City of New Westminster was visited by a destructive fire.
Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906
-
1906
New Westminster, a port of entry and former capital of British Columbia, is situated on the Fraser River, 15 miles from its mouth and 80 miles NNE.... Read MORE...
-
1941 - Church of the Holy Spirit established in New Westminster
www.gcatholic.org
New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada Genealogy
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Updated: 11/11/2019 10:09:33 AM
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