District of Mission was founded in 1868 and incorporated in 1892 where it was mostly forested upland. In 1891 the towns core properties, mostly commercial, and the residential streets were auctioned off at what was called “The Great Land Sale”.
The District of Mission which was called Mission City, was known for being the heart of the berry industry within the Fraser Valley with “Home of the Big Red Strawberry” as its slogan in the 1930s until the 1940s and the Official Flower being the Caitlin Rhododendron X-ing Fortune and Hummingbird Rhododendums. It is known for the Salmon runs and huge population of Green Stergeons. Forty percent of Mission is actually tree farm, being the first of 2 communities with municipal tree farms (Revelstoke, British Columbia being the second with smaller and fewer farms).
The District of Mission is 225.78 km² (87.17 square miles) and has the estimated population of 38,000 people within many neighborhoods. The neighborhoods that were part The District of Mission before amalgamation and still have a strong local identity are Silverdale, Silverhill, Ruskin (which is also part of Maple Ridge), West Heights, Stave Falls, Stave Gardens, Steelhead, Cedar Valley, Keystone Road, Clay Road, Richards Road, Cade-Barr, Cherry Hill, Ferndale, Hatzic, Hillside, and Deroche. Then there are the communities and rural areas that are unincorporated but linked mostly because of School District No 75 are Hatzic Valley which includes Durieu, Hatzic Prairie, Hatzic Island, McConnell Creek, Miracle Valley, and Sylvester Road; Dewdney, Nicomen Island, Downtown Mission, Mission West, Hemlock, and Lake Errock.
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