Better in Every Way Richmond is a culturally diverse and geographically unique community centrally located on Canada's West Coast, in Greater Vancouver, 20 minutes from Downtown Vancouver, and 25 minutes from the US border.
Richmond has been experiencing growth and change with remarkable speed, transforming from a rural, local community to an international city with a balance of urban, sub-urban family, and rural areas. The continuing development of the City's downtown core, and the pending construction of Rapid Transit and an Olympic Speed Skating Oval on time for the 2010 Winter Games, ensures that Richmond's transformation is ongoing.
With a
population of over 176,000 people, Richmond is a growing dynamic urban centre with a unique mix of residential, and commercial property, agricultural lands, industrial parks, waterways and natural areas. It lies where the River meets the ocean. The shores surrounding Richmond create an estuary border that provides habitat for fish and for migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway between the Arctic and South America.
Richmond has undergone enormous change over the last several decades, with significant growth in the early 1990's. Today, Richmond is a dynamic, multi-ethnic community. Much of the recent population growth has been made up of Asian immigrants. People of Chinese or South Asian ancestry now represent nearly sixty percent of Richmond residents. Newcomers have contributed significantly to the growth of the small business and retail sectors and have added to the diversity and vibrancy of the City of Richmond.
Richmond is known throughout the Vancouver region for its quality
Parks & Recreation facilities, and
Culture & Heritage facilities. Richmond has over 90 parks that total approximately 1400 acres in area and an additional 200 acres in a recreational trail system plus a wide variety of recreational amenities, including
pools,
arenas,
community centres, tennis courts, playgrounds, picnic areas, golf courses, lacrosse boxes, running tracks and playing fields. The City also maintains a system of interconnecting perimeter dyke trails which provide for a variety ofGarry Point Park recreational opportunities as well as scenic views of the north shore mountains and natural and historic areas. Cultural facilities include
libraries,
a performing arts theatre, art gallery, arts centre,
museums, archives and
heritage sites.
Amidst the recent rapid change, the community has continued to place a priority on protecting farmland, preserving its heritage and protecting the natural environment. Among the popular sites for experiencing Richmond's unique environmental and cultural heritage are Garry Point Park with its beaches and estuary habitat, Britannia Heritage Shipyard, Gulf of Georgia Cannery and London Heritage Farm.
A Brief History
Richmond was incorporated as a municipality November 10, 1879. Richmond was designated as a City on December 3, 1990.
Richmond's islands were built up and shaped by the mighty Fraser River and it is the river that has shaped our growth. The fishery and the rich delta soil provided by the river has been the basis for our economy and industrial development. Richmond's history is rooted in fishing, agriculture, shipping, aviation, and later in manufacturing, service and technological industries.
Founding People
Richmond is a land of many peoples. First Nations people were the first to come to the islands to fish and collect berries. The Coast Salish bands were known to have set up temporary camps, and they are said to have had year long dwellings on the islands which were scattered and moved from year to year. There are also reports of villages that existed at one time near Steveston and on Sea Island.
The first European settlers to this area were farmers in the 1860's. The pattern of early settlement was oriented to the river, since it was easier to get around by boat than to cross the low-lying, often boggy interior areas of Lulu Island. The Fraser River also provided transport access to Richmond from the nearby City of New Westminster.
Although the nature of the islands at the mouth of the Fraser suggests they were ideal locations for farms, farming was not easy; clearing, dyking and, in some cases, draining the land was a major task that had to be dealt with before the main work of farming could begin. Once begun, the diversity of agriculture was remarkable. In addition to grain and feed crops, vegetable and berry growing was highly successful. Perhaps the two facets of local agriculture of greatest renown were dairying and berry growing, the latter of which remains important to this day. Two berry crops in particular, blueberries and cranberries, thrive in the more peaty soil of central and eastern Lulu Island.
The need to build dykes was a significant factor in causing the early settlers to petition the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council to grant status as a municipality to Richmond in 1879. Local government was a necessity if dykes, roads, bridges and other services were to be developed and maintained. This early start means that Richmond is seven years older than our neighbouring city, Vancouver.
The abundance of the fishery attracted many more people to our shores. From the early 1880's Richmond's fishing fleets brought their catches home to be processed in one of the numerous canneries that sprang up all along the river. This industry did more than bring fish to market. Related industries such as boat-building also thrived.
The vitality of the fishing industry attracted Japanese fishermen to Richmond, adding not just to the industry but to the richness of our community as a whole. The growing cannery and boat building industries brought more migrant workers to the area. Among these were first nations people and the Chinese contract workers who originally came to British Columbia to build the railway. Steveston, in particular, became the centre of the fishing industry, gaining international fame for the quality and bounty of its canned salmon. Despite the pressures of changing times, Steveston has survived as a unique, diverse community that maintains strong ties with the sea.
Richmond continues to attract in-migration from many other countries and from other parts of Canada, recent migration has been most notably from China and Hong Kong. Our cultural diversity has enriched our City and made Richmond an exciting place to live.
Richmond is often seen as a new community because it has seen such dramatic growth over the last few decades, but you do not have to look far to see the factors that have shaped our history. The land, the river and the sea made Richmond unique over a century ago, and that is still true today.
Aviation History
Richmond was, and is, the centre of aviation in British Columbia. The first flight in B.C. was made on March 25, 1910, from Minoru Racetrack. The first airport for Vancouver was on Richmond' s Lulu Island. Not much more than a grass field and some small service buildings near what is now Alexandra Road and Garden City Way, the airport remained there until the move to Richmond's Sea Island in 1931.
In recent history the airport has been a major factor in Richmond's ongoing development. Proximity to the airport has helped attract a large number of manufacturing and high technology industries to Richmond. Vancouver International Airport has become an important gateway between Canada and other Pacific Rim countries.
Who or What was Richmond Named For?
There are four theories as to how the City of Richmond, in British Columbia, got its name.
One is that it was named after a county in Ontario from which many first settlers came.
Another is that it was named after "Richmond View", a ranch in Australia where one of the first settlers had lived.
A third is that it was named after an area in Australia near the aforementioned ranch. The last is that it was named after a town or county in England.
Unfortunately members of the first municipal government (formed in 1879) did not leave any written confirmation of how the new town got its name. Subsequent research and information donated from the first settlers here, have revealed connections with counties and towns named "Richmond" in Australia, Ontario and England.
