This cache takes you to one of the oldest settled areas of what is now Abbotsford. You will drive past pastoral farmland and buildings that are 100 or more years old, to a pioneer cemetery.
A Very Brief History
If you approach the cache from Mt. Lehman Road, after you cross Harris Road, you’ll enter the historic Mt. Lehman area. When Mt. Lehman was first settled in the 1860s, the river was the principle means for the new farming community to send its goods to market.
As you drive north on Mt. Lehman Road, the first place of note is the Mt. Lehman post office, on the left just before you cross the railroad tracks. It and the other brick buildings on the site were built in the latter part of the 20th century, but the post office opened in 1884. The next building of note is on the right; the Mt. Lehman United Church was established in 1894. Between the tracks and the church, on the left side of the road, are the few businesses that remain from the original settlement. At one time the settlement had a hardware store, general stores, and a train station, among others. As you continue north, take note of the old heritage homes that still stand, among the newer ones.
When you reach Taylor Road, you will see two more buildings of note. Mt. Lehman Elementary School on the south-west corner was opened in 1884 as a one room school; the current building opened in the early 20th century and has been enlarged since then. Mt. Lehman School is the Abbotsford school district’s oldest continuously operating school. On the intersection’s north-east corner is the Mt. Lehman Community Hall, built in 1904. If you have time, continue north on Mt. Lehman Road to see some beautiful farm land. As you drive north, the next road on your right is Landing Road. As the name implies, Landing Road went down to Lehman’s Landing and its warf on the Fraser River. Landing Road’s hill down to the river was open for vehicular traffic until 1950, and until recent times was a nice forest trail, included on Abbotsford’s list of trails. However, Abbotsford no longer includes the road on its trail list and walking it is unsafe and not recommended. Turn west onto Taylor Road, and the next point of interest is the Mt. Lehman Cemetery.
The Day the King Came to Town
From May 1 to June 17, 1939, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth made the first visit to Canada of a reigning monarch. They travelled west across Canada, to Vancouver and Victoria, on the CP Rail and returned east on the CN Rail. One of their stops as they travelled through the Fraser Valley was at the Mt. Lehman Landing. That’s likely the only time a member of the Royal family ever visited Mt. Lehman.
Mt. Lehman Cemetery
Based on the dates on the cemetery’s oldest tombstones, the Mt. Lehman cemetery was established in the 1880s, and most of Mt. Lehman’s old family names are represented in the cemetery. Two grave sites of interest are those of the Lehman and Owen families. The Lehman family has a tall, granite tombstone beside the fence and the forest, at the cemetery’s western side. The Lehman’s were early settlers in the area, as is evidenced by their infant son’s 1894 grave. The Owen grave site is noted for possibly having the grave of the oldest person buried in the cemetery: Lucy Owen. Miss Owen was born in England in 1900 and came to Mt. Lehman as a young child. She lived in the area the rest of her life until she died in 2001. The Owen graves are at coordinates N 49° 07.084 W 122° 24.024.
The Cache
Part of the cache is a trackable. Do not remove the trackable; rather, record its number and at geocaching.com, log that you discovered it. If you log your discovery, you’ll learn a little historical information of two Mt. Lehman pioneer families.
The cache is just outside the cemetery but on city land; it isn’t inside the cemetery so you don’t need to go into it unless you want to. However, if you have time, and enjoy cemeteries, wander through it and read the names of the area’s old settler families. You’ll likely recognize several of the names because roads in the area are named after the settlers.
If you arrive during a burial, please be respectful and keep driving.
With the cache is a BC themed pin for the FTF. Congratulations, gearhedd, on your FTF, glad you also enjoyed the trackable.