General Store at Moodyville
The amenities at Moodyville initially made the settlement a gathering spot for the whole population of Burrard Inlet. With a major source of employment, general store, school, community hall/Masonic lodge/Mechanics’ Institute with a library, and even its own newspaper, The Moodyville Tickler, it was a self-contained community. Officers and crews of visiting ships were allowed to use the library, which subscribed to newspapers and periodicals. A flotilla of small boats and schooners brought in supplies, vegetables and fodder for the draft animals. The population of Moodyville and the surrounding area provided a substantial market for produce and livestock from the nearby farming areas of Lulu Island and the Fraser Valley. Thomas Kidd recalled rowing a load to Moodyville: “We … there met Mr. Dietz, who had charge of the store and found that he already had all the potatoes he needed. [He] took pity on us perhaps because he finally bought our boatload … at a much reduced price.”
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WHAT
The General Store at Moodyville served the company town as well as the whole area’s pioneer settlers and logging camps. Note the pulley in the gable to haul up heavy goods.
WHERE
The Store, like most amenities in the town, was located close to the mill. It served as a purchasing agent as well as a supplier.
WHEN
By the 1880s, the west extension of the Store, with its false front and row of sash windows, had been built. An east extension was added later.
WHO
The Store initially served the entire population of Burrard Inlet, which numbered between 400 and 600 people — mostly men.
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