The Pitt Meadows Heritage and Museum Society is marking nearly 50 years of preserving local history with a renewed commitment to telling a more inclusive story of the community. Since its formation in 1977, the society has worked to document the region’s past, and it is now expanding its archives to better represent the diverse groups that have shaped the area.
Operating out of two heritage sites on Harris Road, the City of Pitt Meadows provides space at the Old General Store and the Hoffmann and Son Machine Shop for the collection. While the museum was historically focused on European settlement, current efforts are dedicated to including the histories of Indo-Canadian and Japanese Canadian residents, as well as the Katzie First Nation. This includes remembering that in 1942, Japanese Canadians made up about 20 percent of the local population before 238 individuals were forcibly uprooted and interned.
To support this work, the museum received funding from the Japanese Canadian Legacies Fund for updated signage and a hall exhibit. Visitors can also view a new gallery exhibit created in partnership with the Katzie First Nation that explores the Wapato harvest and the deep history of the region’s original inhabitants.
The society is looking for new members to help guide these initiatives and will hold its annual general meeting on April 16, 2026, at 1 p.m. Additionally, the community is invited to the museum’s Heritage Tea on April 26, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Old General Store, a tradition that has spanned nearly 30 years.
