Off the Beaten Path in Metro Vancouver: Historic Stewart Farm and Elgin Heritage Park

by Laila Kasuri - March 27, 2023

Last weekend, the warm weather summoned us to be outdoors, and given that we were sick and tired of waiting for our second born to pop out soon, we decided to explore some new places nearby. In the mood for some South Asian cuisine, we decided to head to Surrey and also make a visit to the Historic Stewart Farm, situated in a large park called the Elgin Heritage Park.

The Stewart Farm is the only intact farm complex from the late nineteenth century remaining in Surrey. Unlike Burnaby Village Museum, the Stewart Farm does not have any fancy exhibits, but the main two storey wood-frame farmhouse is quite an interesting visit! Outside of the main building, there are seven other farm buildings: root cellar, wood shed, pole barn, bunkhouse, machine shed, threshing machine shed and garage. They aren't proper "exhibits" but its still nice to see the number of different structures in the farm complex.

The main attraction, the two story house, is a fully furnished home, that demonstrates how a farming family lived. While the farmhouse is quite elaborate by today’s standards, it was not the largest or most lavish in local Victorian times.

This farmhouse was the home of John and Annie Stewart. John, who was from Scotland married Quebecois Annie Davidson in Nanaimo in 1884 and moved to Surrey to make a home here. Not alot is known about the two, but it has been pieced together from various sources. The Stewart were, however, certainly part of the growing community. With just two sons - a small family for the times - they would have rallied friends and nearby work crews to harvest their fields. The Stewarts owned 440 acres of land, including what visitors see now, as well as land across the river where the Stewarts had two additional barns.

The main parlor above shows room design styles in the late 1800s focused on use and comfort than display. Still, pretty busy with wall furnishings, carpets and lots of furniture. This was the area where the family entertained guests. The dining room below had many original items and belongings of the Stewart family.

Below is a view from the veranda of the main farmhouse building. The exteriors of the farmhouse were all renovated.

Another building that had a small exhibit and visitors could walk through was the barn. It didnt really have much but some wall exhibits and writing.

We also saw some lanterns and remembered how we still use these in Pakistan in the rural areas, and used them all our lives growing up too.

The tour of the farmhouse took us less than an hour and we had a really nice tour guide tell us about everything about the family. Once we were done with that, we took a nice stroll in the park which overlooks the Nicomekl River. Interestingly, the river is tidal and sternwheeler boats originally travelled up the river to collect produce from the local farms. In the 1950-1970s era, the Ward family created a small boat launching marina and boat repair area. The wharf, boat moorage and launching ramp for non-motorized vessels have now been reconstructed.

All in all, this was a great visit! One can easily spend about 1-2 hours here, and while you are in the area, it definitely makes sense to grab a nice curry!