Langley Township Yesterday

The original Fort Langley, built in 1827 at Derby Reach as a Hudson's Bay trading post, was the first permanent European settlement in the Fraser Valley. In the 1830s, the Hudson's Bay Company began to develop approximately 810 hectares (2,000 acres) in the area known as Langley Prairie as a mixed company farm producing dairy, root crops and grain for local and export use. This made Langley the first major agricultural centre in British Columbia. Salted salmon and timber were shipped to Hawaii. In the 1839, the Fort was relocated upstream to be closer to the Hudson's Bay Company's farm.

Late in 1858, Governor Douglas proclaimed the Colony of British Columbia, making Fort Langley the birth place of the Province. 1859 saw the first church in British Columbia completed and consecrated at Derby. The Township of Langley was incorporated in 1873. Through the turn of the century and into the 1920s land clearing and the development of agriculture continued.

Credit: Township of Langley. Langley takes its name from Fort Langley (Akrigg).