Whatever Happened to Haney?

One of the first things a newcomer to Maple Ridge district will notice is that “Maple Ridge” is not the only name in use. People familiar with the area from childhood visits will ask, “Didn’t this used to be Haney?” Other frequently heard names are Hammond, Whonnock, Webster’s Corners, Ruskin, Albion, and Yennadon. These refer to the original historic neighbourhoods, each of which once had its own post office and community centre that included stores, schools, churches and halls.

WHY DID THEY CALL IT MAPLE RIDGE?

One of the earliest European settlers in the district was John McIver, a Scot, who homesteaded the land now known as the Maple Ridge Golf Course. As his property incorporated a fine ridge topped by Maple trees, McIver called his farm “Maple Ridge".

By 1874, several small communities had sprung up, consisting of a few families each, on the north side of the Fraser River in the areas that would become Haney, Hammond, Pitt Meadows, Whonnock, Albion, Ruskin and Webster's Corners. One of the problems of small isolated communities is that they tend to stay small and isolated unless some means is found to build roads between them.

It was with this problem in mind that a group of forward-thinking men gathered at McIver's farm to discuss incorporating the whole district between the Pitt River and the Stave to allow taxation for road building. The name for the district was taken from McIver's farm and so we became "Maple Ridge" in 1874.

THE COMMUNITY POST OFFICES

When the district incorporated in 1874, the total population was about 20 families with the majority located between Hammond and Kanaka Creek. The closest thing to a centre was the area that is now the foot of Laity Street where it meets River Road. This is where the first post office was established in 1876 with the name "Maple Ridge Post Office". All settlers had to travel to this location to get their mail, likely via the Dewdney Trunk which was the first trail/road to traverse the district.

In 1885, the completion of the CPR caused the community to rethink the location of their post office. It no longer made sense to have it up on the ridge when it could be near the railway. Three new post offices were opened that year in Haney, Hammond and Whonnock. The Maple Ridge post office was closed at that point and there wasn’t one of that name again until 1970 when Canada Post closed the small offices in favour of one central one in the downtown core.

The first post office located away from the river bank was opened at Webster's Corners in 1891. Post Master James Murray Webster had to walk to the Haney Station to get the mail and then carry it back to Corners. Ruskin’s post office opened in 1898.

In 1907, Albion got a new name along with its post office. Formerly known as East Haney, this was not distinctive enough for the postal service and so residents were asked to come up with a new name. The last post office in the district opened in 1911 and also required the adoption of a new name. The area we know as Yennadon was formerly called South Lillooet.

FULL CIRCLE: BACK TO MAPLE RIDGE

There was a series of major controversies over postal name changes which reflect how important the old neighbourhoods were to their citizens. In the 1950's, considerable conflict arose in Hammond when residents were informed that the price of door‑to‑door delivery was the indignity of having to change their postal address to “Haney, BC” where the sorting station was located. The final solution was to change "Haney" to "Maple Ridge" as the more neutral name.

As postal districts became larger and door‑to‑door delivery from a central station more common, all the local postal addresses were gradually taken under the umbrella of "Maple Ridge". The name of the first and most short‑lived local postal address [which had only applied to the area around the foot of Laity Street when first established] was to be applied to the whole district as of 1970.

While "Maple Ridge" was certainly less contentious than having "Haney" imposed over the entire area, we still see the Whonnock Post Office struggling to retain its own name. Whonnock is the last rural post office in the Fraser Valley to retain its postmaster and original name.

St. Andrew's Heritage Hall

St. Andrew's Presbyterian was built on land owned by Thomas Haney in 1878. It housed its congregation through the transition to the United Church in 1926 until it was finally outgrown in the middle 1950's. It was purchased by the municipality after being rescued by George Mussallem and was given over to the management of the Maple Ridge Historical Society.

Located at 22279 116th Ave. in Maple Ridge, the hall is intimate and charming and will hold events for up to 75 people. It is perfect for small weddings, family parties, church gatherings, and meetings.

Please be advised that events *with* alcohol have different requirements than those without. You'll require a liquor license plus special event insurance and will need to provide proof of both. For further information please click this LINK to see our rental contract.

How to find it:



RENTAL RATES

Security Deposit $100

Social Activities

4 hours $80
9am – 5pm $150
5pm – 1am $150
entire day $250

Club or Organization Meetings*
4 hours $50
9am – 5pm $100
5pm – 1am $100
entire day $150

lockers $15/mo or $150 per year, paid in advance

* Discount rates available for regular users who book a year in advance. Call for more information.

Your contact for rentals is Tom Little. He can be reached at Haney House at 604.463-1377 or litsmit@shaw.ca

Haney House Museum

This gracious family home was built on the brow of a hill overlooking the Fraser River by pioneer Thomas Haney for his wife Anne and family. They came to Maple Ridge in 1876 and in 1882, subdivided their land to create the townsite of Port Haney. Members of the Haney family lived in the home until 1979 when it was donated to the people of Maple Ridge. Restored with the aid of a B.C. Heritage Trust grant, Haney House has been open to the public since 1981. Features of the main floor are a farm kitchen, family portraits and furnishings in the parlour and dining room. Upstairs is a fully furnished master bedroom, little girl's room, priest's room and bathroom. The Heritage Walk winds through part of the garden and remnants of the orchard behind Haney House.

Guided tours of the house are offered between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays year-round, with extended summer hours. Special programs and events are part of the annual activities at the site, including Saturday and Sunday afternoon tea on the veranda in July and August, Canada Day celebrations, and a heritage plant sale.

Staff: Rebecca Forrest, Curator

Address: 11612 224^th St., Maple Ridge, BC V2X 5Z7

Phone: 604-463-1377 Email: haneyhouse@gmail.com

Maple Ridge Museum & Community Archives

The Maple Ridge Museum is the community’s museum, featuring archives, research resources, and displays. Housed in the 1907 Manager's home for the Port Haney Brick & Tile Company, the museum has been operated by the Historical Society since 1984. The displays on the main floor tell the story of the Katzie First Nation and the pioneer settlement period with industrial and transportation history and displays of household goods and personal effects. On the lower level, the Dewdney-Alouette Railway Society has a late 1920's era model railway diorama showing the influence of the CPR on the area’s growth plus the role of railway logging.

Guided tours of the Museum are offered between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Sundays (or by appointment) year-round, with extended summer hours. Museum staff and volunteers also provide assistance and resources to researchers, care for a large historical and archaeological collection, and have a busy schedule of taking temporary displays out into the community as part of numerous community events.

Staff: Val Patenaude, Museum Director

Jordana Feist, Curator

Address: 22520 116^th Ave, Maple Ridge, BC V2X 0S4

Phone: 604-463-5311 Email: mrmuseum@gmail.com

Welcome to our new blog!

The Maple Ridge Museum & Community Archives is establishing this blog to provide information on our facilities and operations and to answer some of the questions our citizens, visitors and distant admirers have about our community.

We offer tours, programs, special events, research opportunities and information on hundreds of families from all over the world who made Maple Ridge their home and contributed to our history.

We will also introduce you to the Maple Ridge Historical Society which this year celebrates 50 years of protecting, preserving and sharing the heritage of this community. We have an ambitious plan in the works to build a modern, "green", combined museum and archives facility so we will keep you updated on those plans.