A History of Burke Mountain

Burke Mountain is known today as a bustling new neighborhood filled with families, parks and so many future plans in the works – though it wasn’t always shiny, sidewalk-lined streets. Burke Mountain has a rich, diverse history, and some of the remnants of the past are still here today. 

Before European settlement in the early 1900’s, the lower lands of Mount Burke and Burke Ridge were home to the Coast Salish and Kwikwetlem peoples. There’s evidence of a midden, which is still present today, on a section of David Avenue. 

Dating back to the mid 1800’s, Mount Burke was discovered by Captain George Henry Richards and was named for Edmond Burke, a European politician. Mount Burke is the larger mountain peak, and modern-day Burke Mountain is actually located on Burke Ridge, the lower portion of Mount Burke. Shortly thereafter, Burke Ridge had several homesteads, living on large parcels of land. The settlers there were responsible for clear cutting portions of their land in order to keep their deeds, and in the early 1900’s Burke Ridge was home to a large logging operation, which came with a small village, including Victoria Hall, which still stands today! 

In the 1960’s there was a fully operational ski lodge, which you can still find remnants of to this day if you hike up the mountain to where the lodge once stood. One of the unique features of this section of the Lower Mainland is that it’s surrounded by Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, which includes many hectares of protected land. 

Several farms remained on Burke Mountain, and a few still remain today. In the late 80’s/early 90’s, Wesbuild was able to purchase a large portion of the land from the City of Coquitlam, and the planning began for what Burke is known as today. In the grand scheme of things, Burke Mountain is just getting started.