In 1858, Fort Langley achieved world fame as the starting point for the Fraser River gold fields. In March of that year news reached San Francisco that gold had been discovered in the sand bars of the upper Fraser, and within eight months 30,000 prospectors had poured into the area. The Fort Langley post became crowded with strangers eager for news of the latest discoveries, and its sale shop, issuing miners' tools and provisions, had a daily turnover of $1,500.
During the "rush", James Douglas, Governor of Vancouver Island and manager of the Hudson's Bay Company's Pacific business, took prompt action to secure British sovereignty and enforce the Company's trade monopoly. Yet the licensing system which he introduced was clearly insufficient to permanently govern the growing population. The era of fur trade guardianship was drawing to a close. In August 1858, the British Parliament revoked the Company's monopoly and passed an act providing for a crown colony on the Pacific mainland. James Douglas was named first Governor of British Columbia.
The "Big House" at Fort Langley provided the background for the official ceremony proclaiming the establishment of British Government on the Pacific mainland. On November 19, 1858, 100 people assembled in the hall to hear the announcement that the Company's license was revoked and to witness the administration of oaths to the officers of the new government. Outside, a 17-gun salute, which pierced the drizzling quiet, marked the historic transition from fur trade domain to British Colony.
The inaugural ceremony at once honoured Fort Langley and signalled its decline. The Hudson's Bay Company received title to land at Fort Langley in 1864 but the revocation of its monopoly created competition for the fishery and farm. In 1858, navigation was extended to Forts Hope and Yale, and Fort Langley's function both as mining supplier and transshipment depot abruptly ceased. The selection of New Westminster as the capital pushed Fort Langley "out of the way of travellers".
In the 1860's, the Fort Langley farm was expanded to support the Hudson's Bay Company's overland transport service to the Cariboo. Local competition was very strong, however, and from 1870 the land was offered for sale or lease. Company officers considered it "the finest land in British Columbia" and terms were kept stringent. Since no one could pay enough for the whole property, the farm was subdivided. Four lots were sold at auction in Victoria in 1878 and the rest by private sale over the next eight years.
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Fort Langley History - Page 5
: April 11, 1998