THE CEMETERY:
The corner of Church and Mary Streets was originally the
southwest corner of the HBC Fort property. All records of the
burials at this site have disappeared, along with the Fort journals
for that period. Efforts to determine the occupants have been done
largely by process of elimination. A ground radar scan showed 24
locations consistent with graves.
The adjacent St. George’s Anglican Church was opened in 1901
after the cemetery closed. You will need to enter the church
grounds to collect the information, but the grounds are open to the
public. The church has erected a helpful sign for interested
visitors (like us). Once you get to the church you will not need
your GPS to find the info.
THE CACHE:
All info needed to get the cache is within a few steps of the
posted coordinates.
Cache is located at N 49 AB.CDE and W 122 FG.HIJ where:
AB= # of known burials listed on the sign (not on the
internet)
C = tombstones in form of a cross here
DE = XXDE(minus 1) is Year the unnamed Royal Engineer Died
FG = Maximum number of burials thought to be here according to
the sign
H = William Newton was born in XXHX
I = “Faithful Servants of the HBC”
J = William Newton died in XXJX
Remember that the records for the cemetery have been lost. There
is conflicting information on the internet. This cache is based on
information as gathered on site. There IS NO CACHE IN THE
CEMETERY.
You might want to gather info for sister cache GC150VT BC
Spirit Quest #21: Protect the Fort by gearhedd as well before
heading for the finals.
KEY PERSONS:
Ovid Allard established a Hudson's Bay Company post in 1847 and
called it Fort Yale after James Murray Yale, who was chief trader
at Fort Langley for many years. Later Allard became Clerk at Fort
Langley and was in charge from October 1864 - August 1874. Allard
Cres, near the cache final, is named for him.
William Henry Newton, was an HBC Clerk and was in charge of Fort
Langley after Yale from May 1859 - January 1860
The mix of English/Scottish, Native (wives), Hawaiian (Kanaka),
and French Canadian names here reflects the multi-ethnic nature of
Fort Langley.
THE SERIES:
Please do not use the BC Spirit Quest name without coordinating
with us first to prevent confusion. Thank-you and enjoy the
history. We did not invent the Spirit Quest idea, just brought it
to BC.