Exercise #1: Local Environmental History

The area I will be focusing on for local environmental history is the small town of Ladner, BC. Edward Ladner was a Cornish tenant farmer who emigrated to a settlement of Cornish lead miners and his eldest son, William Henry Ladner, joined him in 1948 and subsequently brought a younger brother, Thomas Ellis Ladner [1]. After the death of their father in 1851, Willian and Thomas travelled overland for the California gold fields, but they had little success in placer mining. Due to the consequent bankruptcy of William’s business concerns and with the responsibility of his young family, William returned to farming. William established operations on the delta of the Fraser River in 1868 [1]. Thomas, who was at this time a storekeeper in New Westminster, also pre-empted land but did not settle next to Willian until 1870 [1]. During this time the economic decline of British Columbia after the gold rush meant that markets were mediocre, but this gave the Ladner brothers time to experiment and try other enterprises [1]. William focused on his farm, which focused on cattle, and Thomas focused on salmon canning. William’s farm became Ladner’s base for building up the local community. William promoted diking of the lands connected to the river; by 1874 he had arranged for a post office in his home near the government wharf [1]. William began service on the school board which built the first school in the neighbourhood. In 1879 William stumped the district to obtain signatures on a petition to the provincial government that led to the establishment of a new rural municipality that is known as Delta [1]. Thomas and other friends established the Delta Cannery. William created regulations and the building of reduction plants for cannery waste that allowed local farmers to have clean water that they could use for dairy operations [1].

The history of farming in Delta began in 1868 when William and Thomas Ladner pre-empted and cultivated land that is now part of Ladner town centre [2]. The Ladner brothers put in significant time, effort, and capital to improve the soils for agricultural production. William and Thomas, along with other pioneers, discovered that the fertile soils of the Fraser River Delta were optimal for farming conditions. The Ladner brothers worked together to create dikes, ditches, and drainage for farming and agriculture. The land was cleared, rocks were picked, the soil was ploughed, and produce was grown [2]. By the 1800’s the area of Ladner was developing into a prime location for agriculture and related industries. The area of farming transported products by roadways, railway, and streamers by 1900. Since the discovery of the delta’s fertile soils, the diversity of products grown in the delta has increased over time. For example, hay production and pastures were very important during the initial early settlement years [2]. The land supported livestock needed to work the land, was instrumental in dairy and beef production and supported livestock used in forestry operations [2]. Outside Ladner’s main town, some barges routinely left Westham Island loaded with horses destined for remote logging camps in lower coastal areas of British Columbia. Forage production continued to be a mainstay into the middle of the 1990s. In the late 1950s and 1960s, there was a fundamental change in how farms and land were managed in Delta [2]. The Deas Island Tunnel, which is now known as the George Massey Tunnel, opened the land to be more easily accessible from neighbouring communities. The expansion of specialty crops, advances in farming technology, and the expropriation of a significant area of farmland also created a shift in farm management styles and practices [2]. For instance, some farms began to move away from mixed farming to focusing on vegetable production or dairy operations.  By the late 1980s, most of the farmland in Delta was farmed under lease and local processing facilities were on the decline as was soil productivity [2]. Today there are continued pressures on farming operations in Ladner. More land is constantly being converted to “newer” crop types such as greenhouse-grown produce, cranberries, and blueberries [2].

Ladner is one of the three communities that make up Delta, BC. The town of Ladner is located along the banks of the mighty Fraser River and has a rich history of commerce and development. Ladner was the first administrative centre for Delta when the municipality was incorporated in 1879 [3]. Today, Ladner is home to approximately 25,000 people and hundreds of local home-grown businesses [3]. Ladner is a unique community that is proud of its historic village and natural surroundings. Ladner is well known for friendly people and local businesses. Ladner is also well known in the movie industry where many American TV shows and movies use the backdrop of the Old Town of Ladner. Ladner still has a heritage feeling to the town and many still identities it as a fishing village. Ladner is home to the civic precinct, including Delta City Hall and Delta Hospital [4]. Ladner is the main hub of Delta’s farming and agriculture industry, with Westham Island offering scenic tours of some of Delta’s most popular farms and roadside farmstands [4]. Today there are historical buildings, such as the Harris Barn on Arthur Drive, line Ladner’s roads and are a popular destination for bird lovers due to the George C. Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island. Ladner is bound to the west by the Strait of Georgia, the south by Tsawwassen, to the east by North Delta, and north by the Fraser River [4]. Ladner is bisected by Highway 17A, which runs north-south from Highway 99 to the BC Ferries terminal. The term East Ladner is often used for the portion of the community that is situated east of Highway 17A [4]. A north-south road connects Ladner with Tsawwassen on 47A Avenue [4]. Ladner is a charming, quaint, small town that still grounds itself in farming and building connections within the community. Even though the town of Ladner is small the heart and sense of pride for the community is immense and everlasting.

Bibliography

[1] Gresko, Jacqueline. “Biography – Ladner, William Henry – Volume XIII (1901-1910) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography.” Home – Dictionary of Canadian Biography, 2003. http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/ladner_william_henry_13E.html.

[2] “History of Farming in Delta.” DELTA FARMLAND & WILDLIFE TRUST, March 23, 2023. https://www.deltafarmland.ca/resources/history-of-farming-in-delta/.

[3] “Discover Ladner.” Ladner Business Association, August 19, 2020. https://www.ladnerbusiness.com/discover-ladner/.

[4] “Discover Ladner.” Ladner Business Association, August 19, 2020. https://www.ladnerbusiness.com/discover-ladner/.