Fleetwood

Fleetwood was a remote area until the Yale Wagon Road (now known as Fraser Highway) opened up and brought more people from New Westminster and Vancouver to this side of the river. With timber and arable farmland available, farming and logging, along with fishing provided work for early settlers. During 1907, newcomers Edith and James Francis settled on land in the vicinity of what is now Fraser Highway and 160th Street.

When World War I was declared in August 1914, many immigrants from England acted on their loyalty to home and country and enlisted to see action. Edith brother, Arthur Thomas (Tom) Fleetwood, was no exception. In August 1915 he joined the 47th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces and was shipped overseas to France. On September 8, 1917, Tom died from grievous wounds he had received in battle. It is said that Edith applied to the provincial government in Victoria for a charter to name her community in honour of Tom. Thus the geographical name Fleetwood was born.

Residents who had concerns and opinions to voice formed the Fleetwood Community Association in 1923; Edith Francis was one of the founding members. Residents also needed a common place to meet for social functions and community meetings, and the Fleetwood Community Hall was built in the 1930s to accommodate those needs. The hall still operates today at the corner of 84th Avenue and 160th Street, across from the Fleetwood Community Centre, which opened in 1995. Volunteer labour was used to create the beautiful 120-acre Fleetwood Park, located on 80th Avenue, between 156th and 160th Streets. Credit: Green Club BC.