District of Maple Ridge

Maple Ridge was incorporated on September 12, 1874; it was the sixth municipality to be formed in B.C., preceded only by New Westminster, Victoria, Langley, Lake Cowichan, and Chilliwack. At that time Maple Ridge consisted of 33,000 acres, but had fewer than 50 families. McIver Farm Maple Trees

By 1874, several small communities had sprung up on the north side of the Fraser River including Port Haney, Port Hammond, Pitt Meadows, Whonnock, Albion, Ruskin, and Webster’s Corners. One of the problems of small isolated communities is that they tend to stay small and isolated unless some means is found to build roads between them.

One of the earliest European settlers in the district was John Mclver, a Scot, who homesteaded where the Maple Ridge Golf Course is now located. The first Council was formed on October 3, 1874 when a group of men representing their small communities gathered at Mclver’s farm to discuss incorporating the whole district between the Pitt River and Mission to allow taxation for road building. The McIver property with its ridge of beautiful maple trees which stretched for two miles along the river was the source for the name Maple Ridge.

Maple Ridge was not connected to New Westminster until 1913 with the construction of River Road and the Pitt River Bridge and was the only rural municipality in British Columbia through which the Canadian Pacific Railway passed.

Today, the population exceeds 75,000 on the same 33,000 acres.

Climate

Maple Ridge’s climate is one of the mildest, enjoying the longest frost-free period and growing season in Canada Maple Ridge Climage. Spring and Fall can often be very warm and pleasant, especially in June and September. The District experiences an estimated 1,400 to 1,800 sunshine hours annually with 73% of the total occurring during April through September. Summer temperatures range from 22 to 28°C (72 to 83°F). Winters are mild, and if snow falls it doesn’t stay long. Average low temperature for December and January is 2 to 4°C (36 to 39°F). The District receives approximately 1,150 mm of precipitation annually, with most rainfall occurring between October and March.

Information from District of Maple Ridge