What do you know about our neighbourhood's history?
My family and I are fairly new residents to the area so if you know any historical information regarding our neighbourhood, we would love to read about it.
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| Annieville Elementary Celebrates 100 years!
May 1, 2008 Annieville Elementary Celebrates one hundred years in the Neighbourhood. If you missed the celebration & open house on Thursday May 1, you can learn a little about the school's history by reading an article in the local community paper, the Leader, by clicking here.
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Piece of Annieville History
Although salmon was first canned in New York in 1814, it took 50 years for the process to become established on the northwest Pacific coast. The first man in BC to can salmon with reasonable success was James Symes, who in 1867, the year of Canadian confederation, boiled salmon in cans on top of an ordinary kitchen stove and exhibited the results at the New Westminster Agricultural Fair that year.
In 1871 James Symes and his wife Annie were with a party in a boat looking for a suitable cannery site. A likely looking place was found, but the shallowness of the water prevented them from landing the boat. Mrs. Symes then waded ashore while somebody shouted 'Annie will make it'. The first cannery on the Fraser River was subsequently built here, and the settlement named Annieville.
Annieville Post Office opened 16 June 1909, Nel Alfred Jenson, postmaster; closed 30 June 1913.
The first salmon canneries on the Fraser River were built at Annieville and Sapperton in 1870. The early canneries were basically large wooden buildings constructed on pilings along the riverbank and with few machines. By the late 1880s, salmon canning had evolved into a manually operated, mass-production process manned by large numbers of Chinese men and Native women. A steam engine provided steam for cooking the cans and cleaning, as well as providing power for the fish elevator. Four-foot lengths of wood were burned in the steam engine. Chinese men powered the gang knife, crimping and soldering machines. Charcoal was used for fuel in the soldering machine to seal the bottoms and tops onto the cans. Charcoal was also used in portable furnaces to heat the irons for soldering the sides of the cans and stopping the vents in the can tops.
In 1871 James Symes and his wife Annie were with a party in a boat looking for a suitable cannery site. A likely looking place was found, but the shallowness of the water prevented them from landing the boat. Mrs. Symes then waded ashore while somebody shouted 'Annie will make it'. The first cannery on the Fraser River was subsequently built here, and the settlement named Annieville.
Annieville Post Office opened 16 June 1909, Nel Alfred Jenson, postmaster; closed 30 June 1913.
Find out more about early canneries by visiting http://www.gulfofgeorgiacannery.com/
Canneries circa 1890
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The history of the neighbourhood plays a vital role in the identity of its residents. If you have lived in the neighbourhood for many years, the neighbourhood history is a heartfelt reminder of days gone by. 
