Fort Langley Management Plan - Commemorative Integrity

Commemorative Integrity

The cornerstone of the National Historic Sites Policy is:
To ensure the commemorative integrity of national historic sites administered by Parks Canada by protecting and presenting them for the benefit, education and enjoyment of this and future generations, in a manner that respects the significant and irreplaceable legacy represented by these places and their associated resources.

Commemoration focuses on what is nationally significant about a site, and includes protection as well as presentation. The National Historic Sites Policy states that "...protection and presentation are fundamental to commemoration since without protection there can be no historic site to be enjoyed, and without presentation there can be no understanding of why the site is important to our history and, hence, to all Canadians."

COMMEMORATIVE INTENT

Commemorative intent focuses our understanding of what is being commemorated at Fort Langley. It is a statement of what is nationally significant about this site. It refers specifically to the reasons for this site's national significance, as determined by the ministerially-approved recommendations of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC).

Fort Langley was declared a site of national historic significance in 1923. Considered by the HSMBC in the context of marking a number of sites related to the Hudson's Bay Company fur trade in Canada, it was viewed as part of this larger story in Canadian history (see Appendix B for the complete listing of HSMBC recommendations pertaining to the site). According to the 1923 HSMBC minutes, the Board was also cognizant of the varied role Fort Langley played in sustaining the HBC trade west of the Rockies, including farming, salmon curing and interior transport. It additionally recognized Fort Langley's role in ensuring the British/Canadian presence on the Pacific Slope and its special place as the birthplace of British Columbia.

The commemorative intent of Fort Langley is expressed as follows:
Fort Langley was commemorated for its associations with the fur trade in Canada and in particular the maritime and interior fur trade activities of the Hudson's Bay Company west of the Rockies, for its role in reinforcing British/Canadian political interest on the Pacific Coast and as the site where the Colony of British Columbia was proclaimed on November 19, 1858.

COMMEMORATIVE INTEGRITY

Commemorative integrity is not a theoretical or abstract concept. It expresses the fundamental program result for a national historic site, and it is intended to help us plan, manage and report on the state of national historic sites, and to identify remedial action where necessary. As such it is a practical tool to guide our management. Commemorative integrity is defined in the National Historic Sites Policy as follows:

The concept of commemorative integrity is used to describe the health or wholeness of a national historic site. A national historic site possesses commemorative integrity when the resources that symbolize or represent its importance are not impaired or under threat, when the reasons for its significance are effectively communicated to the public, and when the heritage value of the place is respected by all whose decisions or actions affect the site.

In order to ensure commemorative integrity or to evaluate whether a site possesses commemorative integrity, one must have a clear idea of what it means in a site-specific context.

RESOURCES THAT SYMBOLIZE OR REPRESENT FORT LANGLEY'S NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

This first part of commemorative integrity refers explicitly and solely to those resources that were instrumental in, or integral to, the designation of national historic significance (level I cultural resources). In the case of Fort Langley, integral to the HSMBC designation was the witness to the fur trade era provided by the historic place itself and the survival of a Hudson's Bay Company building (the Storehouse) from the mid-19th century. The archaeological resources and historic objects relating to the HBC period are also level I cultural resources and together with the historic place and the Storehouse are the resources which have the highest value because of their direct relationship to the national historic significance of Fort Langley. The following level I cultural resources must not be threatened or impaired:

Historic Place

The associative value of historic place or landscape is expressed in the strategic location of Fort Langley on the Fraser River, its physical and visual access to the river, its topography and the siting and orientation of the fort.

The location of Fort Langley near the Pacific Coast on the Fraser River was a deliberate choice on the part of the HBC to support the maritime trade and to provide a communications link with its interior posts. Although this link was not fully realized until 1848, the geographic location of Fort Langley on the Fraser River is fundamental to understanding its critical role in the Pacific Slope fur trade and its importance to Canada.

In the immediate environment, the landscape features and relationships which led to the choice of this specific site for the fort endure. These are the frontage on the Fraser River facing McMillan Island which masked the fort from the main channel of the Fraser River, the hilltop location of the fort on a small knoll rising from the river for ease of defense, and the plain between the knoll and the Salmon River which provided access to Boundary Bay.

The physical and visual access of Fort Langley to the river and to the Aboriginal community on McMillan Island are also important features of the historic place. While former circulation patterns are lost or are obscured, access to the river continues and historic views are still recoverable from the fort north to the river and McMillan Island, from the river to the fort, east to the countryside and upriver and west toward the Salmon River.

Historic topographical features are the fort's hilltop location and the gradual inclination of the terrain southward within the fort walls. Within and near the reconstructed palisades there are traces of the original palisade openings, three buildings on the west side of the palisade and access patterns. Enough evidence has been recovered to reestablish the approximate outline of the fort walls and the location of the structures. The orientation of the surviving Storehouse reinforces these findings and provides important evidence of the spatial relationship of the buildings and walls.

Built Resources

The historic HBC Storehouse is an important tangible resource directly related to the designation of this national historic site. It sits in its original location and has an important symbolic value as the single surviving building from the HBC period and as an important documentary record of vernacular building by the Company at this post. The heritage character-defining features of the Storehouse are its location and orientation, its massing, building materials and Red River frame construction. Both its material replacement over time, as part of on-going maintenance, and alterations associated with its varied uses are characteristic of a building of this type.

Archaeological Resources

Structural and other in situ remains dating from between 1839 - 1886, and linked through documentary evidence to the HBC occupation of this site are level I cultural resources, as are those in situ remains within the areas identified as being of "archaeological potential" which could be linked to the 1839 - 1886 HBC occupation of the site. Archaeological artifacts associated with the 1839 - 1886 HBC occupation of the site are also level I cultural resources.

Historic Objects

Site-specific historic objects, including historical drawings and sketches, directly related to the period of 1839 - 1886, to significant events referred to in the commemorative intent, or with persons with site-specific association to those events, are level I cultural resources.

REASONS FOR THE SITE'S NATIONAL HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE

This second element of commemorative integrity focuses on what is nationally significant, and is derived from the commemorative intent of Fort Langley National Historic Site. The following are the messages of national historic significance which must be effectively communicated to the public:

Messages of National Historic Significance for Fort Langley National Historic Site

The strategic importance and diversified role of Fort Langley in the Hudson's Bay Company's fur trade west of the Rockies and the importance of that trade in the history of Canada.
The important role of the fur trade in reinforcing the British/Canadian political presence on the Pacific Coast.

Fort Langley as the site of the proclamation of the Colony of British Columbia.

Integral to the above messages of national significance are the following:

The role of Aboriginal peoples in the fur trade associated with Fort Langley.
The functions of Fort Langley as an interior depot, transshipment centre and trading post.
Fort Langley as a source of commodities for the HBC's domestic and export trade: cured salmon, cranberries and agricultural products.

The role of Fort Langley in establishing viable routes to the interior through the British/Canadian territory.

THE SITE'S OTHER HERITAGE VALUES

Other heritage values associated with Fort Langley relate to its archaeological context, its evolution and life as a national historic site and the panorama of history etched into its surrounding landscape.

The pre-1839 and post-HBC archaeological resources and historic objects are of potential historic value. Aboriginal people and the scientific community in particular have identified the locality as an important pre-contract site with remains dated as far back as 8,400 years before the present.
In its 72 year history as a national historic site, Fort Langley has evolved from a single building serving as a museum to a sizeable palisaded complex of recreated structures added from 1956 to 1992. Some reconstructions which are nearly 40 years in age have themselves become part of the heritage character of the site and may be considered to have historic value. The location of these buildings and parts of the palisades on the footprints of the original structures has also reestablished historic spatial relationships which are now a valued part of the identity of the fort in the area.
From the 1920s campaign to designate Fort Langley as a national historic site to the present, the local community has played a strong role in its preservation and development. This commitment to the site has been accompanied by continuing traditions and events of historic value such as Douglas Day, celebrating the proclamation of the Colony of British Columbia, which has been an annual event at the fort since the 1930s.
Within and around the fort the landscape reveals the post-HBC history of the region - the silting up of the river, the development of the village, the coming of the railway and the establishment of an Aboriginal reserve on McMillan Island.
Fort Langley is part of the family of national historic sites, and has value as an integral element of this system which commemorates aspects of the complex heritage and identity of Canada.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada monument recognizing the HBC steam vessel Beaver is located at Fort Langley.

COMMEMORATIVE INTEGRITY INDICATORS

The National Historic Sites Policy states that a national historic site has commemorative integrity if the resources that symbolize or represent its importance are not impaired or under threat, if the reasons for the site's national historic significance are effectively communicated to the public, and if the site's heritage values are respected by all whose decisions or actions affect the site. Therefore, at Fort Langley, commemorative integrity will be ensured when:

The resources that symbolize its importance - the historic place, the Storehouse and the archaeological resources and historic objects of the HBC period - are not impaired or under threat.

Historic Place - the historic place is safeguarded when the historic features of the site's setting are respected and revealed, that is:

The historic location and orientation of the fort is maintained.
The topography of the land, especially the knoll on which the fort is situated and the gradual rise in the terrain within the fort is maintained.
There is physical access between the fort and the Fraser River. Use of the historic access route is no longer possible due to soil erosion, road and railway establishment, but physical access can be reestablished elsewhere on the NHS property and is essential to the protection and preservation of the value of the historic place.
There is visual access from the fort to the Fraser River, from the river to the fort, east looking upriver and to the countryside and west towards the Salmon River.

The meaning of the immediate and larger landscape is revealed through interpretation thereby increasing understanding of its value and support for its protection.

Storehouse - Protection of the only surviving building from the HBC period means that its heritage character-defining features are respected, that is:

Its location and orientation are maintained.
Its appearance, defined by its massing and composition, is retained.
Its building materials and Red River frame structural system are preserved in accordance with conservation standards.
The documentary value of the Storehouse, as the only extant HBC structure on the site is realized through a full heritage recording.
Its relationship to former HBC structures is interpreted.

Archaeological Resources and Historic Objects - are safeguarded if:

Documented in situ structural and other remains of the HBC period and in situ remains in areas identified of 'potential archaeological significance' for the same period are respected in accordance with archaeological conservation practices.
Archaeological artifacts and historic objects of the HBC period are protected and access is ensured for research and interpretation.

The reasons for Fort Langley's national historic significance are effectively communicated to the public when:

All visitors are presented with and understand the principal messages of national significance, that is:

The strategic importance and diversified role of Fort Langley in the Hudson's Bay Company fur trade west of the Rockies and the importance of that trade in the history of Canada.
The important role of the fur trade in reinforcing the British/Canadian presence on the Pacific Coast.
Fort Langley as the site of the proclamation of the Colony of British Columbia.

The geographic and historic relationship of the site to the larger environment, specifically the Fraser River, the province of British Columbia and Canada, is communicated to visitors to provide the wider context for understanding the significance of the site.
The importance of the site as a whole is understood and interpretation outside and inside the palisade is integrated and balanced.
The Aboriginal role in the fur trade at Fort Langley is acknowledged and presented.
Interpretation of specific functions such as salmon curing, boat building, fur packing, etc., is related to Fort Langley's role in the Pacific Slope fur trade.
Interpretive media are diversified and balanced so as to ensure a meaningful experience for all visitors. Fort Langley will be presented as a place to learn about a nationally significant part of Canada's past.
The messages and the fort are presented with integrity. Conjectural information is acknowledged and authentic and recreated resources are distinguished.

Community support for and participation in events and activities related to the messages of national significance are encouraged.

Fort Langley's other heritage values are respected by all those whose decisions or actions affect the site when:

Members of the community understand how the changes evident in the landscape help place the fort in a continuum of history.
The community understands the importance of maintaining viewscapes to reinforce both national and local dimensions of the Fort Langley story.

Interventions inside and outside the palisade respect the in situ archaeological resources from the pre-HBC period.
It is acknowledged that the reconstructed elements now form part of the national historic site's heritage character.
The evolution of the site over time and its identity, which includes the re-established historic spatial relationships, are acknowledged.
Community traditions of active involvement and presentation are continued. The community and the site understand the importance of working together to improve the heritage experiences.
The significance of Fort Langley as part of the larger system of national historic sites is communicated to visitors, and its thematic links to other fur trade sites across Canada, including the first Fort Langley, is explained.