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Front and southeast side view. Picture taken and donated by photographer Emilie Hrysio.
At bottom of print it says, "Episcopal Church, Maple Ridge. Oldest Church." Reprint of a picture in the Vancouver Museum Collection.
Interior view
St. John the Divine
Reverend William Barton Crickmer was selected and prepared for the long voyage from England to the new colony, where he would take up his duties as the first regular minister on the mainland of BC. He wasted no time and immediately arranged for a building in which he could hold services temporarily. The church was to be built at Derby, the site which was located on the south side of the Fraser downriver from Fort Langley. Governor Douglas instructed Colonel Moody of the Royal Engineers to build the church to the minister's specifications. Moody's group of engineers surveyed the site for the church and preparations were soon underway. Roughed California redwood had to be shipped up the Fraser from the Oregon Coast because there were no sawmills. The new church was finally completed and ready for its first service May 8th, 1859.
In 1881, the CPR started construction through Maple Ridge. Settlers began streaming into the district. So Reverend T.H. GIlbert, in charge of the Anglican Fraser River Mission, arranged for the Derby church to be brought across the River to Maple Ridge. In the fall of 1882, Samuel Edge took charge of some men and after dismantling the church, moved it with difficulty on rollers to the river's edge. It was then floated across the river and re-erected on River Road. The first service in Maple Ridge was held on Wednesday, December 20th, 1882 by Bishop Sillitoe and Rev. T.H. Gilbert.
The most famous visitor to the church was H.R.H. Princess Margaret who signed the guest register in the summer of 1958 when Padre Harry Moss was the rector. The visit was arranged by the Queen's Chaplain who was a sidekick of Padre Moss during the First World War.
The church was moved again in 1983, but this time only about 50' feet north-east on the same property it was situated on. This was due to a problem with crumbling foundations and the desire to move the building further back from River Road.
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