Deer Lake History - Deerholme Traditional Cache
Deer Lake History - Deerholme
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One of the least known of the grand mansions of Deer Lake tucked into an out of the way area of the park.
The Deer Lake History caches will take you on a tour of Burnaby’s most unique heritage area. The area between Deer Lake and Burnaby Lake was the first settlement in Burnaby in 1861 along the Douglas Road stagecoach road to New Westminster. In 1956 the City Hall was relocated to the area because it was the geographical centre of the city (finally ending the north/south debate). Since that time there has been an active process to acquire the lake and adjacent lands for the enjoyment of the community. All the properties in the tour are owned by the City of Burnaby. Some have public use, some are leased to organizations, one is leased as a private residence. There is fascinating history behind some of these buildings. A City of Burnaby walking tour brochure can be found HERE.
Some of the caches can be drive up and each can be found on their own, but to catch the true flavour of the Deer Lake area, I would suggest parking at Deer Lake Beach and doing the caches in the the following order, taking the roadway on the way out and returning to your car along the lakeshore trail:
Baldwin House
Eagle's Estate
Avalon
Altnadene
Fairacres
Deerholme
You may also wish to take some time to visit the Burnaby Village Museum which you will encounter on your way built on the Elworth grounds – another heritage property. It has a number of important historical buildings moved to the site as well as replica buildings of the1920's setting. It also houses two restoration projects spearheaded and completed by volunteers - the 1912 era 1223 Interurban tram car, and the beautiful 1912 C W Parker carousel formerly located at Playland at the PNE. The museum has free admission for 2012 while carousel rides are available for $2.30. The facility is open Victoria Day to Labour Day, then over the Christmas season.
About this Cache:
Deerholme shortly after completion in 1912
Deerholme with perennial gardens in 1923
Deerholme was built on the north-west shore of Deer Lake by Colonel Thomas Owen and Frances Townley. They moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver in 1886 where he became the Registrar of Land Titles for the New Westminster District in 1889 which held until his retirement in 1910. He was also elected as mayor of Vancouver for one term in 1901. The Townleys had 5 children. They were good friends with the Ceperley family and were encourage to become part of Burnaby’s “Shaughnessy” community in 1911.
Unlike the other properties on the north shore of the lake, this 40 acre parcel had not been previously cleared. It was a formidable task to clear the dense forest in order to develop a country estate in the English style. The Townleys were fortunate that their son Fred had just returned from the University of Pennsylvania where he had received training as an architect. He later went on to design many buildings in Vancouver including City Hall in 1935.
The home is built in the Georgian Revival style and is quite different from the other large homes on the lake. It too remains relatively unchanged. Some features include symmetrical facades, double casement windows with shutters, and delicate mullioned fanlight and gable windows.
The estate was developed as a working fruit and vegetable farm with an orchard planted alongside the Fairacres Estate boundary. A tennis lawn on the lake side of the house hosted summer tennis tournaments and croquet parties. Some outbuildings such as the guest cottage and stables remain. Approaching from the east these can be seen at 6176 Price St. You may also peek down the long driveway of the estate at 6110 Price St to see the front of the house
Much of the historical landscape still survives. The trees are particularly important as they remain as mature impressive specimens including Red Oaks, Silver Maples, Copper Beech, Cypress, Honey Locust, and Holly.
The Townleys moved back to Vancouver in 1920 and sold the property to the Vancouver Anglican College which owned it until 1940. The City of Burnaby eventually purchased the property in 1979 where it remains leased as a private residence.
NOTE: Deerholme remains as a private residence, please respect the private property signs. The cache is located on the public side of the trail opposite from the home.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng gur onfr bs n gerr. N qrnq oenapu cbvagf gb gur ynxr. Qhpx haqre naq frnepu gur arkg gehax.