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Group has a plan to save Ma Murray house in Anmore

Anmore residents will be asked for support during upcoming Ma Murray Day
Anmore Hall
The newly formed Anmore Heritage Society wants to save the former Margaret "Ma" Muray homestead, which up until 2012 was used for the Anmore Village Hall.

A cozy cedar-clad building that was once the home of B.C. pioneer Margaret "Ma" Murray could be saved after a group of Anmore residents proposed a plan for the 100-year-old structure.

A group calling itself the Anmore Heritage Society would like to see the building restored, with a museum on the top floor and a coffee shop and a gallery below, and will be asking village residents for their support at the upcoming Ma Murray Day on Sunday, Sept. 11.

"We're marking 100 years and we're trying to drum up support for saving the village hall," explained Joerge Dyrkton, a member of the society.

The two-storey building that was used for administration offices for the village of Anmore was decommissioned in 2012 and council would like to see the part that's worth saving moved off site soon, according to Mayor John McEwen.

A sum of $5,000, money that would have been used for demolition, will be used to help pay for the move, McEwen said.

"We were going to pay $10,000 to tear it down, we will allocate $5,000 [to the move]," he told The Tri-City News.

But where the building will be stored and where it will be located permanently are still open questions.

McEwen said the best location for storage is the village works yard near the Buntzen Lake recreation area, about a kilometre from its current location.

But Dyrkton said his group would like to see the building moved to a spot closer to the current location where it could be restored and open in a year.

That option doesn't seem to be on the table, Dyrkton admitted, noting that many of the project's details still need to be worked out, including getting quotes for moving the building.

But despite the unknowns, Dyrkton said the group is pleased that council supports the idea of saving the heritage building.