Chilliwack – City Council adopted the heritage designation for Hazel House at the September 21, 2021 regular meeting of Council. Heritage designations within Chilliwack are voluntary and only done at the request of the property owner. Due to the extenuating circumstances of COVID-19 and the weather events of November/December 2021, Mayor Popove joined the owners for a plaque presentation on April 20, 2022.
Hazel House is a one-and-a-half storey, wood-frame front-gabled house with a side-gabled one-storey extension located at the north end of Hazel Street. Sited in its original location set back from the street, Hazel House has had continuous residential use since its construction in 1914, and it features architectural elements associated with the Arts and Craft (or Craftsman) style. Some of these features include the prominent low-pitched front-gabled roof with deep eaves, knee-brackets, tongue-and-groove soffits, and exposed rafter tails; wood lap siding; cedar shingles on the front gable with a flared bottom row; the original window openings with wood trim and projecting sills; and the end-wall chimney on the south elevation.
“It is a pleasure to be a part of the preservation of this part of Chilliwack’s history,” said Mayor Popove. “Hazel House is a good example of our past and we appreciate the current owners’ commitment to maintaining the historical qualities of this property.”
Hazel House holds historical value for its association with a thriving farming industry in the early twentieth century. The B.C. Electric Railway completed an interurban railway line from Vancouver to Chilliwack in 1910, which allowed New Westminster and Vancouver markets to reach Fraser Valley farmers. Built in 1914, Hazel House is associated with farmland investment from the resulting local dairy industry.
All heritage applications are substantiated by a report from a qualified heritage consultant prior to Council adoption. The heritage designation and plaque presentation for the Hazel House support the City’s Official Community Plan goal to foster a greater public awareness and appreciation about Chilliwack’s history and cultural heritage. Under the City’s Heritage Designation Policy, the Hazel House will be preserved for generations to come by the municipal heritage designation bylaw.
