Newsletter

February 2001
Volume 1, Number 3

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History Helps Volume One, Number 3, February 2001
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Happy Valentine's Day! And Happy Heritage Month!

B.C. Archives Vital Events Indexes

You will have noticed, if you have used these indexes in the last couple of months, that the site now makes available a limited selection of documents for purchase on-line. The document is identified with the label, "Digital Image Available for Purchase." The price is $19.95 each, and the document is sent as an e-mail attachment. I haven't used this yet, so can't comment on the quality of the product.

Anyone have experience with these? Are they good value?

Other From B.C. Archives

An item in B.C. Historical News, the publication of the B. C. Historical Federation last summer gave a summary of what to expect forthcoming from the Archives. Included was a wills and probates index. However, when I queried the author of the article last September, the reply that I got back said, "sometime in the next 12 to 18 months". Watch for it!!!

Fire Insurance Plans

Lest anyone get the impression that I've been completely seduced by the Internet (although I do admit to spending an inordinate amount of time browsing and searching), the resource that I'm going to rave about this month is one that takes us back to the basics of research "hard copy" as we think of it, in this computer age. Here I'll essentially summarize what I presented to the Delta History Research Group in one of our meetings last season.

Fire insurance plans were maps of a town or village or industry, showing all the buildings, drawn to scale. A key explaining the symbols and colour informed as to the size, shape and type of construction material for each building, as well as the number of floors, doors, windows and chimneys, as well as a myriad of other details. In addition, the map-maker placed the buildings accurately on the respective lot and in relation to other buildings.

Fire insurance plans came into being in the early 18th century, but the first for a Canadian city was drawn in the 1850s. For those of us doing research on Delta, the existing fire insurance plans cover several eras: Fraser River cannery sites in 1897, 1911 and 1914, and Ladner and the canneries in 1911 and 1914, and Ladner proper in 1949, which was an updated version of the plans for 1924. Copies of these can be found at the library of the University of British Columbia, in Special Collections (Main Library, 7th Floor).

Since industrial buildings were a major fire hazard, I would not be surprised if plans were drawn for the several sawmills that operated in Delta over the years. However, finding any one of these would surprise, as well as delight, me!

An excellent article on the subject by Frances M. Woodward, entitled "Fire Insurance Plans and British Columbia Urban History: A Union List," can be found in the periodical, B. C. Studies, No. 42, Summer 1979. She has included keys, as well as lists of locations of plans for various B. C. cities and towns. Woodward sums up nicely the origins of insurance plans with this sentence (page 20): "Fire insurance plans were intended to provide at a glance a detailed picture of a community for the immediate and exclusive use of the underwriter."

I've found fire insurance plans extremely useful as resources for my four books on Ladner village. I suspect that there is significant potential for anyone doing genealogy or family research, and wishing to learn something about the material surroundings of ancestors. Often, where built heritage is concerned, we record the outstanding buildings in various ways, but not ordinary vernacular houses. Given that February is heritage month, fire insurance plans are appropriate for us to celebrate and explore.

Delta Doings in Celebration of Heritage Month

On Monday, February 19, at Delta Municipal Hall, an awareness event will be held, sponsored by the Delta Community Heritage Commission. I understand that it will take place in the morning and there will be exhibits in the foyer of the Municipal Hall by a number of organizations and other participants. For more information, see below.

The recipient of the Heritage Preservation Award for 2001 from the Corporation of Delta is St. Stephen's United Church on Highway 10 in Delta. This is the eighth year that the award is being presented. Friends of Heritage are also recognized by Delta Municipal Council during Heritage Week. The building winning the award is typically open to the public on the afternoon of the last day of Heritage Week, which this year would be Sunday, February 25th. For more information, check the Delta Optimist or phone Delta Municipal Hall, 946-4141.

Converting Money to Money

I've run out of space so this item will have to wait for next month.

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Back Issues

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Gwen Szychter

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