I never understood how the old town came to grow so big. Jeweller Uriah Ward, who spoke these words later in life, settled at Langley Prairie in 1924. By the time he died in 1981, he had witnessed his chosen home grow from a hamlet at the corner of Fraser Highway and Glover Road, into a thriving city. Long part of the Township of Langley, Langley Prairie became the City of Langley, a separate civic jurisdiction in 1955. At the turn of the Millennium, the City was home to over 25,000 residents, had a well-developed infrastructure, enjoyed extensive community services, and possessed a remarkable sense of its own identity.
History is an integral part of community identity.
It is a welcome addition to the growing literature on one of British Columbia's oldest communities.