Partner City

Abbotsford

Handmade and Homegrown

Abbotsford is a sprawling municipality on the banks of the Fraser River. Home to the Sto:lo First Nation for thousands of years, the historic downtown was first laid out by European settlers in 1891 alongside the Old Yale Road, a track used by gold-seekers to reach the Interior. Abbotsford has since grown into a large city, with many industries, rich farmland, and a young population. Abbotsford is made up of a number of different communities outside the historic downtown, notably Matsqui Village, a Scandinavian farming settlement that is featured in one of our walking tours.

This project is a partnership with Heritage Abbotsford and we owe them generous thanks for their support. This project was funded in party by the Heritage BC Legacy Fund.

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which all this content is built is the traditional and unceded territory of the Stó:lō.

Virtual Tours

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Walking Tours

130 Years of Change

Abbotsford's Scandinavian Settlement

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Abbotsford

Then and Now Photos

View Across Abbotsford

Vancouver Archives

1920

A photo taken from the Old Yale Road showing the railway line running through Abbotsford's townsite. On the right you can see the train station.

A Sunday Picnic

Vancouver Archives

1920

A group of people enjoying a picnic on the Matsqui Prairie. This photo location is an approximation of the original spot, since there were no identifying landmarks.