People uprooted from South Westminster / South New Westminster (12)

South Westminster, originally known as Brownsville, was established by a non-Indigenous settler in 1861 where he built a hotel and saloon. A fish cannery opened in 1877 and a bridge was built in 1904, connecting the community to New Westminster. Industrial growth increased with the arrival of the BC Electric Railway. The Timberland Lumber Company, founded in 1909, operated a sawmill at Craig Station near Brownsville. The company opened a sawmill on the Fraser River at South Westminster in 1918, complete with bunkhouses for employees.

Japanese Canadians often worked as boatbuilders. George Isomura established a workshop in 1893 at South Westminster before relocating to Steveston in 1899. Other Japanese Canadian boat builders included Torazo Mototsune; H., T., and Y. Suga; and Y. Tsuchimoto. By the 1930s, Japanese Canadians formed a significant part of the rural and industrial population of South Westminster, Strawberry Hill, and nearby Delta communities.