Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam’s recent disagreements over the development of — and traffic from — Burke Mountain are just the latest issue spurring the debate over whether the Tri-Cities should amalgamate.
But a timely online exhibit shows that arguing over municipal boundaries is nothing new for residents in this part of the Lower Mainland.
“It hasn’t changed in 100 years,” said Emily Lonie, Coquitlam’s archivist and one of the creators of the showcase.
Titled “Coquitlam’s Changing Boundaries,” the exhibit presents maps and documents with the goal of showing residents how the current borders came to be.
Lonie explains that when Coquitlam incorporated in 1891, a large portion of the development occurred in an area called New Westminster Junction, which today is known as Port Coquitlam. But many original residents in the more densely populated area grew tired of paying taxes to service far-flung homesteads in parts of what are now known as Burquitlam and Burke Mountain.
So, in 1913, they decided to break away from the larger Coquitlam area, forming the community of Port Coquitlam.
“A lot of communities had large expanses of land that they were responsible for but they only had a small tax base to pay for it,” Lonie sad. “There was a strong desire to keep the tax money to service the citizens paying for it, instead of servicing these massive districts.”
Using century-old documents, Lonie was able to trace how the borders have moved over the years. For example, parts of what are today Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge were originally considered part of Coquitlam, while Fraser Mills only amalgamated with the larger city as recently as 1971.
The online exhibit is the second in a quarterly series using archives to tell stories about the city’s past. The series started last spring with a look at Coquitlam residents who served in the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
In putting together the latest presentation, Lonie scoured legal documents and survey maps of the area, which are all included online.
She noted with some disappointment that Coquitlam’s 1894 letters patent — a document signed by the province and used to incorporate municipalities — adding the western portion of Maple Ridge to the municipality had been extensively damaged. Work has been done to restore the document and a copy will now be framed and hung in the archives at city hall.
“We have these really important records,” Lonie said. “We are taking steps to make sure they are preserved properly.”
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
@gmckennaTC
