Steveston Yesterday

1877 saw Menoah Steves establish a farm at the present site of Steveston on Lulu Island. At the turn of the century, Steveston was the busiest fishing port in the world with 14 fish canneries packing more than 195,000 cases of salmon each year. Every summer, the silver harvest of salmon would see the community swell by the thousands as Native, Chinese and Japanese laborers sought seasonal work. More than 10,000 people would crowd the boardwalks between saloons in the boomtown. BC Packers, for decades one of the largest local employers, closed its fish processing plant in 1992. The Imperial Plant was the homeport for BC Packers, the centre of an international operation and a major part of the industrial history of Steveston.

Steveston takes its name from William H. Steves, who had laid out a portion of his ranch in town lots in 1889. (Akrigg).