This study attempts to trace the historical geography
of Mennonite settlements in the Fraser Valley, to
single out for analysis significant changes in their structure
and function and to summarize their distinctive characteristics
by means of statistics, maps, photos and description.
All this is to lift a segment of one ethnic group
out of the mosaic of the Canadian population and show what
has been its part in the shaping of the landscape of British
Columbia densely settled southwestern corner.
fo obtain the necessary historical information
the relatively few systematic published studies were consulted;
but the bulk of the information was pieced together
from interviews of pioneers, newspaper clippings, historical
accounts by church officials on anniversary celebrations
(usually unpublished), personal knowledge of events concerned
and other sources. Much of this information was
placed into its historical geographical context for the
first time. The statistics necessary for outlining distribution
and structure of the Mennonite population came from
the listings in the Census of Canada under the classification
of religious affiliation, from church records of the
individual congregations, compilations in Mennonite year
books of various kinds, school records as well as from
estimates given by responsible people in cases where documented
figures were not available. The information so obtained was portrayed cartographically by means of dot maps,
an isopleth map, a centrogram and a flow diagram. The centrogram
was of particular interest in that it showed shifts in
the center of gravity of the Mennonite population of the
Fraser Valley which were closely corroborated by economic and
social currents within the community. The flow diagram was
used to portray graphically the centrality of the settlement
of Clearbrook with reference to one criteria - its attraction
of young people into the Mennonite high school located there.
This was supplemented by a discussion of other criteria of
centrality for this community, which now represents the most
important concentration of Mennonites in the Fraser Valley
and, indeed, in the whole province.
The actual settlement forms that have resulted
from Mennonite occupance of the land were considered after
some aspects of the history of the group had been traced and
its present situation in the Fraser Valley outlined. The
individual holding, the small nucleatlon, the sizeable Mennonite
centers of Yarrow and Clearbrook, as well as the
urban community in Vancouver were described and analysed in
turn, with a view particularly toward capturing peculiarities,
ascertaining the extent of obliteration of former
characteristics and finding some definite marks of the
degree of acculturation experienced by the people themselves.
The principal conclusions of the study are simply
a substantiation of what is known more or less accurately
about the situation of other ethnic groups in our country and elsewhere. The Mennonites have retained a considerable
number of peculiarities up to the present time, and the
expression of these in the nature of their settlement has
been the main concern of this paper. The cultural and economic
changes, however, that are sweeping all segments of the population
toward farm rationalization and urbanization, are
affecting them as well. In many cases the only peculiarities
that persist are theological. Under these circumstances a
recurrence of a traditional group response such as mass
migration or even traditional individual responses like the
preservation of the German language in the home are difficult
to envisage for the immediate future. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/41684 |
| Date | January 1960 |
| Creators | Siemens, Alfred Henry |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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