Partner City
Mission
On the Fraser
Located on the right bank of the Fraser River as it descends into the Lower Mainland, the land where Mission is located has been the territory of the Stó:lō people for many thousands of years. In 1861 St. Mary's Mission and Residential School was founded on a bluff overlooking the floodplain by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. After the school was integrated into the federal residential school system, reports of physical and sexual abuse of the children at the school became common. The school stayed open until 1984 and was British Columbia's last functioning residential school. The community of Mission was established just to the west 1891 and took its name from the school. The settlement was at the junction of the Canadian Pacific Railway and a branch line of the Burlington Northern Railroad coming north from the United States. For over a decade this remained the only river crossing of the Fraser River in the Lower Mainland, which immediately brought the area considerable economic prominence. The community grew rapidly, and in 1893 the first Board of Trade in British Columbia was founded here. After major flooding in 1894 much of the community's development moved a bit uphill, along today's 1st Avenue. The nearby Stave Falls Hydroelectric Dam was completed in 1912 and at 90 MW, was the largest dam in the province until the 1960s, providing the town with easy access to electricity. The opening of Highway 1 in the 1960s meant much development in the Fraser Valley shifted to the south side of the river to communities like Abbotsford and Chilliwack, and Mission declined in relative importance. Today Mission is a city of over 40,000 people, and has retained much of its historical feel with many heritage buildings surviving in the downtown core.
This project is a partnership with the Mission Community Heritage Commission and Heritage Abbotsford.
We respectfully acknowledge that Mission is situated on the unceded, ancestral, and shared territory of the Stó:lō people, who have occupied these lands since time immemorial. The City of Mission is located on Leq'á:mel, Semá:th, Kwantlen, Sq'éwlets, Máthexwi, and Katzie traditional territories.
Explore
Mission
Then and Now Photos
Building the CPR Bridge
Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-: SGN 196
ca. 1890s
Piers have been set in the Fraser River during the construction of the CPR trestle bridge across the Fraser River. Photo was taken from the north side of the river.
Mission CPR Bridge
Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-: SGN 1479
ca. 1890s
A view of the Mission Branch Bridge of the Canadian Pacific Railway, taken from the north side of the river.
Train Entering Mission
Ca. 1890s
A train pulls into Mission along the CPR's Mission Branch Line.
Alanson's Hardware
Ca. 1920s
A boy stands in front of Alanson's Hardware: Sash & Door.
1st and Welton
Ca. 1920s
Stores and businesses on First Ave looking east from Welton Street.
Flooded Train Station
Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-: Out P305
1894
On a stretch of track just by Mission Station, three men pose for a photo on a railway hand car that's mired in floodwaters up to the axles.
Match Factory Construction
Vancouver Archives AM54-S4-2-: CVA 371-352
1946
A match factory being built on the banks of the Fraser River. Today it's the site of construction supply warehouses.
Bus Depot
ca. 1940s
Buses at the Mission Bus Depot in the 1940s. The depot is built in the new modernist style of the time.
Rex Cox Footwear
Ca. 1940s
Cars parked in the snow in front of Rex Cox Menswear and Footwear store. The store survives to this day.