The history
Trethewey House
Trethewey House was built in 1919 for B.C. lumber baron Joseph Ogle “J.O.” Trethewey. President of the Abbotsford Lumber Company, J.O. was responsible for leadership of the company during the company’s boom years in the 1920s.
The House is built in an “arts and crafts” style and is constructed using primarily local materials, making it distinct from other buildings of similar age within the City of Abbotsford. Trethewey House contains old-growth Abbotsford fir lumber (processed at the Trethewey mill on Mill Lake), and bricks and tile crafted from clay mined on Sumas Mountain (processed at Clayburn Village, B.C.’s first company town), representing two of Abbotsford’s most important early industries.
Trethewey House has undergone extensive restoration work and has been restored to c.1925 by the Heritage Abbotsford Society, with the help of local families and assistance from the Province of British Columbia through British Columbia Arts Council and Direct Access Gaming. Trethewey House was designated a municipal heritage site in 1983.