Hughes Park
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Hughes Park was once the site of the home of Liza Louisa Hughes, and in the 1920s it was where Mennonite Brethren first began gathering in the Fraser Valley. The Hughes home was demolished and replaced with a new building called Poplar Hall (and shortly thereafter upgraded and renamed the Farmers Institute Hall), and the Mennonites continued to gather there. In 1932 it was here that the congregants officially established the Abbotsford Mennonite Brethren Church. As the number of Mennonites in the Fraser Valley quickly grew, in 1935 it was decided to split the church into north and south Abbotsford branches. A year later the South Abbotsford Church moved to a new purpose-built church at the corner of Huntingdon and Gladwin Roads, while the North Abbotsford Church moved to a church on Clearbrook Road and Old Yale Road. The North Abbotsford Church was later renamed the Clearbrook Mennonite Brethren Church.
As for the Farmers Institute Hall, it was later torn down and this plot of land which had proven so crucial to the establishment of the Fraser Valley Mennonite Community, was made a park. The park was named in honour of the woman who had become beloved as Grandma Hughes.
As for the Farmers Institute Hall, it was later torn down and this plot of land which had proven so crucial to the establishment of the Fraser Valley Mennonite Community, was made a park. The park was named in honour of the woman who had become beloved as Grandma Hughes.