our mission

About Us

The mission of the Heritage Abbotsford Society is to collect, record, preserve and share the stories of Abbotsford.

We are a registered non-profit society that depends on government grants, private donations and fund-raising efforts to provide its services to the people of Abbotsford.

Christina
Executive Director

our support

Heritage Abbotsford Society

Trethewey House Heritage Site is operated by the Heritage Abbotsford Society, a registered non-profit society that depends on government grants, private donations and fundraising efforts to provide services to the people of Abbotsford. The mission of the Society is to be the memory of the community by preserving and interpreting its history. Functions of this mandate are to preserve, study, and exhibit artifacts and archival material and to educate and entertain the public.

Originally founded as the Matsqui-Sumas-Abbotsford (MSA) Museum Society, the Society recently voted to rebrand as Heritage Abbotsford Society in April 2017.

Heritage Abbotsford Society leads various programs and activities aimed to engage and promote the City’s history and heritage to visitors and local residents of all ages, including the young and the young at heart.

These include:

  • Historical and architectural tours of Trethewey House
  • Programming for our exhibit “The River People and the Land: Living within S’ólh Téméxw,” located in our on-site Heritage Gallery
  • Walking tours of Mill Lake and Matsqui Village
  • Various special events for adults, children and families
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.

Sylvia Pincott Heritage Garden

The Heritage Site

In addition to Trethewey House, Trethewey House Heritage Site also boasts several other buildings and features onsite, notably the Carriage House, Joey’s Playhouse, the Upper Sumas Train Station and the Sylvia Pincott Heritage Gardens.

Located next to Trethewey House is the Heritage Gallery, a reproduction of an original building used to house the family’s automobiles and horses. In the Heritage Gallery, you can find our exhibition space, currently featuring the exhibit “The River People and the Land: Living within S’ólh Téméxw.” The building, along with Joey’s Playhouse, was rebuilt with the support of a BC Community Spirit Abbotsford 2000 grant funded by the Province of British Columbia and the MSA Museum Society (now Heritage Abbotsford Society). Today, Joey’s Playhouse serves as a one-room 1920’s classroom.

The site also boasts the Upper Sumas British Columbia Electric Railway (“BCER”) station. Originally situated at the corner of Lamson and Vye Road on Sumas Prairie, the station was a stop along the Chilliwack Line which skirted the southern shore of Sumas Lake prior to drainage. Construction of the Chilliwack Line between New Westminster and Chilliwack concluded in 1910.

The Sylvia Pincott Heritage Garden was opened in 2002 and was named after local environmentalist Sylvia Pincott, founder of Abbotsford’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program and leading advocate for the establishment of the Naturescape program, a provincial initiative.

Our Trethewey House Team

Amber

Program Manager
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Christina

Executive Director
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Lorisa

Collections Manager
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Sara

Conservation Technician
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Maryanne

Event Manager
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Amber

Program Manager
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Christina

Executive Director
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Lorisa

Collections Manager
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Sara

Conservation Technician
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Maryanne

Event Manager
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Amber

Program Manager
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Christina

Executive Director
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Lorisa

Collections Manager
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Sara

Conservation Technician
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Maryanne

Event Manager
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Donor and Sponsors

The Heritage Abbotsford Society (formerly the MSA Museum Society) is based at Trethewey House Heritage Site.
Heritage Abbotsford is a non-profit society, and as such, relies on the generosity of our private and corporate sponsors and donors, as well as grants from various sources, such as such as the such as the Abbotsford Bingo Association, Canadian Heritage, Employment and Social Development Canada, and more.

A joint venture with our sponsors

Without these donations, grants, and sponsorships, the Heritage Abbotsford Society would not be able to continue bringing entertaining, quality, and educational program offerings and events to the community.

Please consider supporting the Society and Trethewey House Heritage Site.

Corporate Sponsorship

Foundation Sponsor – $5000+

Corner Stone Sponsor – $2000 – $4999

Building Block Sponsor – $500 – $1999

Private Sponsorship

Family Sponsor – $1000+

Friend Sponsor – $500 – $999

Neighbour Sponsor – $250 – $499

Donations

Contributing Donor – $100.00+ (with tax receipt)

Benefactor – $250.00+  (with tax receipt)

Patron – $500.00+ (with tax receipt)

Other

All donations are gratefully accepted

To make a donation to the Society, please call us at 604-853-0313, or drop by our office M-F between 9am-5pm.

You may also donate online by clicking “Donate Today” to the left.

Contact Us

2313 Ware Street, Abbotsford, BC V2S3C6

Acknowledgement

The Heritage Abbotsford Society acknowledges that we are situated on the traditional, ancestral, unceded, and shared territory of the Semá:th and Máthekwi People who have lived in Stó꞉lō Téméxw since time immemorial.