The rolling hills of Fraser River Heritage Park with St. Mary's Grotto at the top left.
Residential schools are a touchy subject in Canada, so I was uncertain how much I would enjoy a park on the site of one of the longest running ones in the province. The fact that the Stó:lô nation has donated items to the park and the Mission Indian Friendship Centre donated a beautiful picnic shelter made me feel much more comfortable with enjoying this interesting historical site.
The original Mission school was built further south, down the hill towards the river. It had its first 42 students in 1863. It was founded by Father Fouquet, a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) and named St. Mary’s, not after the Virgin Mary, but after St. Mary of Egypt. In 1868 the Sisters of St. Ann began a convent school for girls on the same site, doubling the population.
Mount Baker can be seen across the Fraser River to the south of the park.
In 1882 the school was forced to move up the hill to allow for the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Today you can still hear the trains passing by just south of the park. The move took over two years. By 1885 most of the new buildings were completed. The remains of these buildings are what can be seen at the park today. The Mission included residences and classrooms as well as a large orchard, garden, milking shed and a cemetery.
St. Mary’s Mission and Residential School ran until 1961 when the students were moved to a nearby government run residential school. Soon after all the abandoned buildings were demolished, leaving only their foundations that can be seen today. The land became the property of the province and was slated to be used for housing. The Mission Heritage Association stepped in, and after years of hard work the site was declared a park in 1986.
Now most of the park is open sloping fields overlooking the Fraser River, with a great view of Mt. Baker. We saw people using this area to play fetch with their dogs, rest under the trees or just run around and play. On one side the park is surrounded with townhouses and condos but your eye is drawn away from this and to the views of Abbotsford across the river.
The original foundation of the boys' residence building was built in 1884.
All that remains of the Mission buildings are the concrete foundations, most of which are marked with small plaques. Many of these have trees growing around them and benches making them a quiet shady spot to rest. The original Mission bell was donated to the park by the Stó:lô nation, and is in a bell tower. A large covered picnic area, decorated with native carving, was donated by the Mission Indian Friendship Centre. There are three small formal gardens. My favorite of those was the Ernest Jacobsen Rose Garden. It was surrounded by a short fence so I was uncertain if I was allowed to enter, but I later saw that the fence was to keep out the rabbits which can be seen in the quiet corners of the park. The garden was in full bloom despite the August heat and the variety of roses was impressive. The park also has a bandstand which is used for summer evening concerts and a café and gift shop in the administration building.
One of the many vandalized graves in the O.M.I. cemetery. this one has been repaired as much as possible with the original carving.
High up on a rocky outcrop overlooking the park is the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. The original grotto was built in 1892. It was a six sided building with a dome on top. Three sides opened up to expose an alter and statue of the Virgin Mary. The grotto was a popular pilgrimage site for Catholics early in the 20th century. It fell into disrepair over the years and was demolished in 1965 with the rest of the mission buildings. After the site became a park fundraising was undertaken to rebuild the grotto. Construction began in 1996 and the shrine was re-opened in May of 1997. Today it is a popular site for church pilgrimages and is open to the public in the summer season from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday afternoons.
In the far corner of the park is the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) Cemetery. This cemetery has been in use from 1870 to the present. Today the site is only used for the O.M.I. but in the past it served the Mission and some Native burials as well as the earliest families in the area. There is a large fence surrounding the cemetery, because of the extensive vandalism which has occurred, but it is still open to the public. Almost all of the headstones have been knocked down. The ones which could be salvaged are now flat mounted flat on the ground.
