Place:Richmond, Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Richmond is a coastal city in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. It occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough), between the two estuarine distributaries of the Fraser River. Encompassing the adjacent Sea Island (where the Vancouver International Airport is located) and several other smaller islands and uninhabited islets to its north and south, it neighbours Vancouver and Burnaby on the Burrard Peninsula to the north, New Westminster and Annacis Island to the east, Delta to the south, and the Strait of Georgia to the west.

The Coast Salish peoples were the first people to inhabit the area of Richmond, with the Musqueam Band naming the site near Terra Nova "spələkʷəqs" or "boiling point".

As a member municipality of Metro Vancouver, Richmond is composed of eight local neighbourhoods: Sea Island, City Centre, Thompson, West Richmond, Steveston, South Arm, East Richmond and Hamilton. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 209,937 people.

During the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Richmond Olympic Oval was a venue for long track speed skating events.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Coast Salish bands had temporary camps on the island, to fish and collect berries, which were scattered and moved from year to year. Certain Coast Salish summer camps were located at Garry Point, and Woodward's Landing, along with the site of the Terra Nova cannery, which had at one time been a Musqueam village.

There is no definitive historical account as to how Richmond was named. There are several possibilities that have been proposed, including:

• The first family to settle in Richmond, that of Hugh McRoberts, had formerly lived in Australia. Their home there was called "Richmond View" and that is what they named their homestead in Richmond.
• W.D. Ferris drafted the original petition for the incorporation of The Township of Richmond. He was originally from Richmond, Surrey, England.
• Another early settler was Hugh Boyd. He was also the first Reeve of the township. His wife had been born in Richmond, Yorkshire, England.

The Township of Richmond, British Columbia incorporated on 10 November 1879. The Township of Richmond was modeled after Ontario's political townships – an incorporated municipality, consisting of communities that are united as a single entity with a single municipal administration. Each community was represented on the municipal council through a ward electoral system with five wards until 1946 when the ward electoral system was replaced with the at large electoral system that is currently in place.

On 3 December 1990, Richmond was designated as a City.

The first Town Hall, the Agricultural Hall and the Methodist Church (now Minoru Chapel), were built at the corner of No. 17 (River) Rd and No. 20 (Cambie) Rd near the main settlement on the northwestern tip of Lulu Island at North Arm.

The old fishing village of Steveston on the southwestern tip of Lulu Island is now home to several museums and heritage sites, as well as a working harbour for fishing boats. Currently, London Heritage Farm, the Gulf of Georgia Cannery and the Britannia Shipyard National Historic Site in Steveston highlight these parts of Richmond's diverse history.

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