Harrison Mills, British Columbia

Step back in time

The Kilby Historic Site had a tumultuous origin

The old general store:The Kilby store has been turned into an intriguing museum of relics from the 1920s and 30s.—photo courtesy Kilby Historic Site

By Carol Ann Quibell

Harrison Mills—once a thriving community with churches, stores, houses, a school, railway station, sawmills and hotel—is today a historic site that is open to the public year round. Exactly 201 years ago, in 1808, Simon Fraser and his group passed the mouth of the Harrison River while heading towards the coast of what we now call British Columbia. He could never have predicted the changes that would take place there over the next two hundred years.

Industry and development

The Hudson Bay Company set up a fish packing plant in 1847 at Harrison Mouth and a ramshackle hotel was built a few years later to house the thousands of prospectors searching for gold in the sandbars of the Fraser river.

Harrison Mouth was given the official name of Carnarvon. The area slowly began to develop as people farmed the land, and paddle wheelers used the new refuelling station as they travelled up the Harrison river. In 1877 there were 16 registered residents; a few years later there was a post office and the Canadian Pacific Railway line which ran through Harrison Mills. A sawmill was built, and it operated for 12 years. Slowly the town continued to grow.

Rebuilding a business: Fires made it necessary to rebuild the Kilby store.—photo courtesy Kilby Historic Site

More growth came when David Galbraith and his wife opened a store and boarding house, and nearby a new water tower and railway station were built. The old sawmill was re-developed and Harrison River Mills Timber and Trading Company was established. Unfortunately it was to burn down only a few years later.

Challenges ahead

Over the years, fires destroyed many businesses in the area including the store, boarding house and post office—all of which were operated by the Kilby family and owned by the Harrison Mills Timber and Trading Company. The Kilbys didn’t give up however, and they proceeded to open a brand new store. Not to be outdone, the Rat Portage Company (who now operated the mill) rebuilt the company store and boarding house. Competition! The Kilbys doubled the size of their building and added a hotel. There were more than 200 men working at the mill and 400 more working in the logging camps around the area, but when the mill closed two years later, Eliza Kilby’s hotel turned into a boarding house where only the schoolteachers and paying guests stayed.

Harrison Mills struggled over the years, and after the mills closed and the new CNR was built across the river it caused the Kilbys to close their general store. Around the same time the Rat Portage mill and the railway station burned to the ground.

If fires didn’t put the residents of Harrison Mills to the test then floods did. The worst flood was in 1948, and it affected the entire community—it took them many years to recover. Acton Kilby, who operated the post office, was forced to retire at the age of 77 when it was moved to Harrison Bay. He decided to turn the old general store into a museum, and eventually sold it to the Province of British Columbia. It was later designated as a historic site, celebrating its 100th birthday in 2006.

Friendly animals: Visitors can check out the working farm while they are touring the Kilby Historic Site.—photo courtesy Kilby Historic Site

A surviving heritage

The Kilby Historic Site is all that remains of this once thriving community. Today you can explore the 1906 General Store Museum with its wooden floors and shelves stocked with remnants of the 1920s and 30s. Visitors can climb the creaking stairs to a second level that houses photos and personal belongings of the Kilby family. The working farm houses very friendly animals and features a homestyle restaurant with a reputation for the best homemade soup this side of the Fraser River. Make sure you take the time to speak to the costumed interpreters who can make you feel as if you stepped back in time—which is really what you will do.

Where to stay:

Kilby Park is just down the road from the museum and has 22 campsites, sandy beaches, nature trails and a boat launch.

How to get there from Vancouver:

Travel east on Highway 7 towards Mission.
Follow signs towards Harrison Hot Springs
Watch for highway signage for the Kilby Store & Farm and campground
Turn right on School Road just past the Harrison River Bridge
Turn right on Kilby Road—follow it a little ways—the parking lot is on your right.

Resources:

www.kilby.ca

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