Another step in working backwards through our district's history - When was the Aldergrove area surveyed and put up for settler acquisition? According to this government report, it was 1876. However, you'll note that some land sections in the bit about Township 13 have been omitted - 1,2,11,12,13,14,22,23,24,25,26,27,34,35 and 36, which are technically in Abbotsford. It is probable that those sections had already been claimed by pre-emptors, as it is stated in the report that it was hoped that the new survey would solve land disputes among settlers. The orange dotted line shows the boundary between Langley Township and what was then Matsqui Municipality.
We also recognize that the lands we are discussing and learning about are part of the traditional & unceded territory of the Coast Salish people who inhabited this area long before the first white explorers arrived.