On this day, June 18, in 1910, you too could have “A Happy Family on a Whonnock Farm”. Just call Rogers and Black, real estate agents of Vancouver, to ask about their divided acreages and beautiful country homes. Ed Watson was no advertiser’s myth – he and wife Annie Major moved to Whonnock circa 1890 and raised their nine children on acreage near 272nd Street.
Farming in Whonnock was, contrary to Watson’s testimony, hard work because of thin topsoil. Subdivided acreages in such areas were popular rural retreats for those who maintained small, non-commercial farms in addition to other employment.
This notice, appearing in the Vancouver Daily Province, was published two years in advance of an electric railway scheme for the north Fraser Valley that would see the papers trumpeting upland properties in Maple Ridge of 5-10 acres. The character of Whonnock is essentially the same today: small acreages where families could retreat from the workday in town.
