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THE LAWSON FAMILY
The First Settlers
By Philip Collings
The first occupation of West
Vancouver by people of European ancestry sprung from the federal
government’s plan to bring the railroad to the Pacific.
There had to be a rail terminus and a dock, but in the first
plans in the 1880s, it was left undecided whether the rails
would run north or south of Burrard Inlet. There was, however,
an immediate rush by speculators to take up likely land, and,
in 1886, all the land worth having between the Capilano River
and Horseshoe Bay was taken up. All the land that now comprises
West Vancouver was held by 16 men, most of them being investors
only and not living on the land. Then the railhead went to
Vancouver city, and the development of West Vancouver went
into the deep freeze for decades.
It wasn’t until 1906,
when John Lawson bought a large tract of land and brought
his family to live there, that development really got underway.
Mr. Lawson lived to be 93, and when he died in 1953, West
Vancouver had changed out of all recognition. A tract of primeval
forest, with a few cabins and small sawmills, had become a
wealthy, residential municipality with all modern conveniences,
and much of this change was due to the energy and public spirit
of John Lawson. Apart from his land subdivisions which set
the pattern of building and landscaping, he also:
1. Sat on the committee that incorporated West Vancouver as
a municipality in 1912
2. Was West Vancouver’s first postmaster and telephone
agent
3. Was Reeve in 1913-14, and sold the land for the Municipal
Hall to the Municipality for $1.00
4. Sat as a councillor several times
5. Set up the ferry service and arranged for it to be taken
over by the Municipality as a public service
6. Helped set up the municipal bus service
7. Was involved in the development of the highway system
8. On the completion of the Lions Gate Bridge, was the first
person to travel over it, as “West Vancouver’s
first settler” – not quite true, but not far off
9. Set up West Vancouver’s first Presbyterian church
(actually, this was principally his wife, Christina’s,
doing)...
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