![]() |
![]() |
||||||||
![]() |
|||||||||
Museum Archives Exhibits Education History Links Site Index | |||||||||
![]()
|
![]() |
||||||||
Colonial Settlers : Johnathon & Lucinda Reece | |||||||||
The Land | Jonathan Reece (1831-1904) was born in Woodstock, Ontario. He arrived at Fort Victoria in 1858 by way of California, one of the first to arrive for the start of the 1858 gold rush. He achieved some success on the gravel bars located between Fort Hope and Yale. In 1859 Reece and partner, John Lawrence opened a butcher shop in Fort Hope and later established a shop in Yale. Yale was the centre for Fraser River gold operations. Cattle for the butcher business were driven from Oregon to Seattle, put on a steamer to Whatcom (now Bellingham), and then driven up the Whatcom Trail to Chilliwack.
In 1861, Reece pre-empted 270-acres of land, the first pre-emption in the Crown Colony of British Columbia. For a time his cousins, Isaac and James Kipp worked for him, caring for the cattle. In 1869, he sold the butcher shop and took up residence on his farm in Chilliwack. In 1865, Reece returned to Ontario and in January 1866 married Lucinda Lewis (1844-1909). The couple had four daughters and one son. Chilliwack's first agricultural exhibition, in 1873, was held in his barn. The Fair has been a tradition in the community since that date and Reece served as the first President of the Agricultural Association. Reece was active politically, acting as Warden of the Township of Chilliwhack in 1874 and 1875 and a councillor during the 1880s and 1890s. A cairn, located in front of A.D. Rundle Middle School in Chilliwack, commemorates the location of the Reece farm. |
||||||||
![]() |
|
P10- Formal portrait of Lucinda (Lewis) Reece, ca.1900 | |||||||
P7- Formal portrait of Jonathan Reece | |||||||||
Museum Archives Exhibits Education History Links Site Index