In keeping with the thought that this site should reflect more than just the forestry industry, this section outlines what life was like in a lumbering community.

Moodyville
Moodyville was a lumbering town at the waterfront in Lynn Valley. Named after Sewell Prescott Moody, the owner of Moody’s Mill, it became a hub for the logging industry in the Lower Mainland. Not until 1874 did Moody allow the first saloon in Moodyville after ten years of dryness, as he knew what liquor did to sailors and lumbermen. Instead of saloons he was key in establishing the first library and reading room on Burrard Inlet. The reading room also served as a place of worship for all denominations. In 1882 electric generators were installed in Moodyville and the mill and docks enjoyed the first electric lights north of San Francisco. When the transcontinental railway terminus was located on the southern shores of Burrard Inlet in 1887, Moodyville went down hill. The centre of interest shifted to the recently burnt City of Vancouver.

North Vancouver
The first settlers established themselves on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet in the late 1890s to early 1900s. The ferry "Senator" made a transport run from the City of Vancouver, to Moodyville, to a wharf now at the foot of Lonsdale Avenue in the City of North Vancouver. The first schedule provided two trips daily, one in the morning and one in the evening. If a business person were to miss their morning ferry they had a day off. This was long before either the Second Narrows or Lions Gate Bridges were built.

Living conditions were quite difficult on the North Shore during these times. All water had to be pumped from a well and carried indoors, homes were heated by stoves, open fireplaces, or both, and the only fuel was wood which was in plentiful supply. Many hours of hard work went into sawing and splitting logs. Coal oil lamps supplied illumination; these required daily cleaning, filling, and trimming. As soon as a small patch of land had been cleared off, a garden would be planted to help survive both summer and winter. Chinese and Japanese immigrants were used for labour. There were no schools on the North Shore other than in Moodyville until 1902; the St. James private school in Vancouver was the only other option. Keith Road and Marine Drive were once trails that led from Seymour and Lynn Creeks to the Capilano River.

Mr. Thomas B. Diplock wrote in his memoirs of the early North Shore:

"…I should mention that although we had plenty of playtime we also had our chores to do one of which was the splitting of wood and kindling for the kitchen stove, the heater and later the fireplaces. There was also the pumping of water from the well and carrying it into the house. Cleaning and refilling coal oil lamps was another daily task. I sometimes think it is a great pity that the modern youth is not required to carry out some chores of this nature. I feel sure that it would do them a lot of good and help keep them out of mischief."

Early residents built on 20 square kilometre lots on what is now 15th Street from Lonsdale Avenue to St. Andrews Avenue. This meant a long 1.6 kilometre hike home uphill from the waterfront for weary businessmen. Medical services were only available in the City of Vancouver so any injuries would require transportation by wheelbarrow down the same trail to the waterfront and across Burrard Inlet to a doctor.

The Western Corporation
The Western Corporation was formed in 1902 under the chairmanship of Mr. A. B. Diplock. The company’s main objective was to provide homes on the North Shore of Burrard Inlet for those of moderate incomes.

Western had a head office in Vancouver and a branch office on the North Shore; it employed architects and construction crews to help customers plan and build their new homes and businesses. Jack McMillan set up shop as the first grocer and postmaster, Mr. McDowell set up the first drugstore, and Pete Larson operated the first hotel.

Western would bring over lumber and building materials from Vancouver by tugboat and scow, an operation that would prove costly and often cause considerable delay. They owned valuable shoreline east of the now North Vancouver Ferry Dock (previously the Burrard Dry Dock Company). The lumber and building materials would be delivered there and then taken by teams of horses to building sites throughout North Vancouver.

Fires

Transportation
The North Vancouver Ferry and Power Company was formed to build the first ferry for transportation to the City of Vancouver to satisfy the increasing North Shore population. Originally named the "North Vancouver," the ferry was later renamed "North Vancouver Ferry No. 1." This led to the construction of the much larger "St. George" later called the "North Vancouver Ferry No. 2" which could handle both vehicle and passenger traffic. The hourly service was increased to every twenty minutes.

By 1905 several roads had been built and modern homes replaced the shacks of the early settlers, and in 1907 the City of North Vancouver was incorporated. The B.C. Electric Railway Company built a streetcar track on Lonsdale Avenue up to 15th Street from the waterfront. It was later extended to the Lynn and Capilano Valleys.

A few years after the streetcar’s construction, there was an accident. The streetcar’s brakes were primitive and hand operated. A safety switch at 3rd Street was supposed to derail cars that had got out of hand, but it had to be reset every time. Each car had a motorman and a conductor. On one occasion when the motorman returned to the streetcar after resetting the safety switch, the brakes failed and the car sped down Lonsdale Avenue to the
waterfront, carrying mostly women and children. The conductor, Mr. Jones, stood at the back of the car and kept passengers from jumping. Such a leap would have resulted in very serious injury or even death. The car sped toward the wharf where it struck the railings on the East side and fell sideways into about 1.5 metres of water. Luckily the tide was in and the water protected the passengers from the sharp rocks below. The most severely injured was the motorman, who jumped out just before the car hit the wharf. He suffered a severe concussion but eventually recovered. There were no other serious injuries.

Some houses took advantage of unique locations. Mr. Diplock’s neighbour, Mr. W.L. Keene, built his house over a stream to be used for refrigeration for milk and butter. The usual location for preserving food was a screened in area on a shady side of the house.

As development continued roads increased, a water system was installed, electric light and power became available, and telephones were present in limited numbers. Water piped down the hill from Lynn Valley Road was used whenever possible instead of the chlorinated water pumped over to Vancouver. In 1925 the First Narrows bridge was built. This was the first land connection between the South and North Shores of Burrard Inlet. The bridge provided a rail connection between the City of Vancouver and the North Shore. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway built a line from North Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay which catered to tourists.

The Provincial Government built a trail up to Zinc Mines on the West Fork of the Lynn River. The owners of the Cedars Ltd. Sawmill made a two-plank wide track running up to the North and West Forks junction of the Lynn River to replace the Government trail. This track was built for trucks hauling mill products down the mountain, but it was also used by everybody as access to another scenic area of the North Shore. There were Japanese and Swedish communities on the mountain slope near the Cedars Mill.

©1997 by David O'Neill and Stephen Wade.

Photographs ©1997 by the North Vancouver Museum and Archives.