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Herbert Steves (son of Manoah and Martha Steves) and a horse-drawn cart carrying his family (circa 1900).
Photo courtesy City of Richmond Archives
New database reveals fascinating stories of Richmond place names
By Don Fennell
Published 12:35 PDT, Tue September 26, 2017
Gilbert Road is a busy Richmond thoroughfare,
and Lam Drive a roundabout near Quilchena Golf and Country Club. But there’s
much more to the stories of who the streets are named after.
Gilbert Road, for example, is named after
Jasper Frederick Gilbert who moved to Marpole with his wife, Sarah Elizabeth,
in 1912, from Kimberley, Ontario. The couple moved to Richmond about 1925 and
farmed land on No. 5 Road (Bath Farm).
Lam, meanwhile, pays homage to Chung Ling
Lam. A native of China, he became a naturalized Canadian in Victoria in 1884
and opened Hong Wo store in Steveston in 1895. He was also a cannery contractor
and president of the Lam Society, Chinese Farmers Association and Chinese
Benevolent Society.
Their stories are featured in a new addition
to the City of Richmond’s website uncovering the stories behind the names of
nearly 500 local landmarks through the new Name Origins online database.
“As we celebrate Canada’s legacy this year,
we are proud to honour the many individuals whose stories and lives helped
shape Richmond’s identity,” said Mayor Malcolm Brodie. “As a community with
great historic roots, this database provides a wonderful opportunity to learn
more about the uniqueness of Richmond and the stamp of urban development.”
For more than 20 years, Friends of the
Richmond Archives volunteers and City of Richmond Archives staff have dedicated
countless hours researching the name origins of streets, areas, and landmarks
in Richmond.Most of the name entries in the database are accompanied by a
Google map which shows the current location. The work is ongoing and the
database will continue to be updated as new discoveries are made.
Research into Richmond’s fallen servicemen is
included in the Name Origins Database, as well as in the “We Will
Remember Them” website launched earlier this year.
Launching of the new database online was made
possible through the Richmond Canada 150 Community Celebration Grant
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