Together we can make a difference
Heritage Abbotsford Society leads various programs and activities aimed to engage and promote the City’s history and heritage to visitors and local residents of all ages, including the young and the young at heart.
Our new permanent exhibit,
"The River People and the Land: Living within S’ólh Téméxw"
is now open for drop-in visits at our Heritage Gallery at Trethewey House.
“We are Stó:lō. We are the river people. We have lived with this land for as long as we can remember. The land that you call the Fraser Valley, the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Canyon, we call home. We moved freely across this land, from mountain to mountain, and from river to river. For thousands of years, this land was our family; this land was our home.”
The Stó:lō people live along the Fraser River and have a rich history with the land. The River People and the Land: Living within S’ólh Téméxw exhibit showcases the relationship between people, the land, and what is essential for the survival of human beings. But what would you do without your land, your home?
The exhibit details about how the Stó:lō have been impacted by European colonization. The loss of land by way of the reservation system has negatively affected the Stó:lō. Within this exhibit, contemporary Stó:lō members are looking to move forward and reclaim what is rightfully theirs.
Heritage Abbotsford Society
The mission of the Heritage Abbotsford Society is to collect, record, preserve and share the stories of Abbotsford.
Browse our website to learn about local history and what happens at Trethewey House Heritage Site.
We are a registered non-profit society that depends on government grants, private donations and fund-raising efforts to provide its services to the people of Abbotsford.
Take a trip through time and experience Abbotsford's history through our cities Heritage Sites, Walking Tours and Education Programs
Trethewey House tours
Walking tours of Mill Lake and Matsqui Village
Storytime on the Porch speaker series
Curator Talks
Various special events for adults, children and families
Our News & Events
The Heritage Abbotsford Society hosts events year round. We invite you to reserve your tickets and join us as we create memories.
City of Abbotsford 2025 Artist in Residence: Call for Artists
Applications are now open for the City of Abbotsford’s 2025 Artist in Residence: Sharing the Stories of Abbotsford. Heritage Abbotsford is partnering with the City of Abbotsford to collaborate with a local artist through a self-directed residency aimed at strengthening community appreciation of local heritage through art.
2024 Call for Directors
You probably know by now that we at the Heritage Abbotsford Society collect, record, preserve, and share the stories of Abbotsford. Amongst other things, we work extensively with local built heritage (yes, that’s fancy speak for “old budlings and sites”), research local historic topics, and exhibit artifacts from our collections and archives on and off Trethewey House Heritage Site.
A Brief Overview of the Dairy Industry in Abbotsford
In 2023, we received a donation of photographs by a generous donor. In mid-August, we were finally able to ask a couple of our beloved volunteers for help identifying the locations in many of the photographs.
Planned Giving
Ensure your legacy by preserving the past. Remembering Heritage Abbotsford in your estate planning will help us steward our community’s heritage for future generations. Your gift will help maintain our heritage buildings and historical collections, while enabling us to provide public programming to share our local stories.
small efforts make big change
Trethewey House Heritage Site
Trethewey House was built in 1919 for B.C. lumber baron Joseph Ogle “J.O.” Trethewey. President of the Abbotsford Lumber Company, J.O. was responsible for leadership of the company during the company’s boom years in the 1920s.
The House is built in an “arts and crafts” style and is constructed using primarily local materials, making it distinct from other buildings of similar age within the City of Abbotsford. Trethewey House contains old-growth Abbotsford fir lumber (processed at the Trethewey mill on Mill Lake), and bricks and tile crafted from clay mined on Sumas Mountain (processed at Clayburn Village, B.C.’s first company town), representing two of Abbotsford’s most important early industries.
Trethewey House has undergone extensive restoration work and has been restored to circa 1925 by the Heritage Abbotsford Society, with the help of local families and assistance from the Province of British Columbia through British Columbia Arts Council and Direct Access Gaming. Trethewey House was designated a municipal heritage site in 1983.
more information
To learn more about our location, hours of operations, booking a tour and special events, please review our FAQ down below.
2313 Ware Street, Abbotsford, BC V2S3C6. Parking can be accessed at the side of the Heritage Site off of Alta Avenue.
604-853-0313
Office (Closed between 12 – 1 PM for lunch)
Monday: 9 – 5 pm
Tuesday: 9 – 5 pm
Wednesday: 9 – 5 pm
Thursday: 9 – 5 pm
Friday: 9 – 5 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
Drop in tours (Trethewey House and Heritage Gallery)
Monday: 1 – 4 pm
Tuesday: 1 – 4 pm
Wednesday: 1 – 4 pm
Thursday: 1 – 4 pm
Friday: 1 – 4 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
*Interested in taking a tour with a group of 5+ individuals? For more information about tours, please consult our tours page.
Do you have a few hours a week or month you would like to share?
Are you looking for work experience?
Do you want to learn & share Abbotsford’s history?
At Trethewey House Heritage Site, volunteers are the backbone of what we do. As a small local non-profit, we rely heavily on the support of the community to help with programming, special events, and museum operations. Learn more about getting started on our volunteer application.
Join the Heritage Abbotsford Society and become an active force in the preservation and perpetuation of Abbotsford’s history, heritage, and culture. Your membership and financial support is crucial to the activities of the Society and goes directly to educating and connecting individuals with the history of the City.
You can learn more about our membership on our membership page.
Field trips to Trethewey House Heritage Site are approximately 90 minutes long and consists of two 45-minute programs (please note: the Trainwhistles and Schoolbells Outreach Program is not offered on site and is not available during field trips).
Looking for additional information about our school programs or how your program will work at Trethewey House Heritage Site? Visit Trethewey House’s tours and programs page.
To learn more about the Heritage Abbotsford Walking Tours, visit our outreach, education, & tours page.
Still have questions? Please contact our Programs Manager at communications@heritageabbotsford.ca.