McMillan Island facts for kids

McMillan Island is a small island located in the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. It is also sometimes called McMillan Slough. This island is an important part of the traditional lands of the Kwantlen First Nation.

Island Geography and Location

Where is McMillan Island?

McMillan Island is found in the lower part of the Fraser River. It sits north of a town called Fort Langley and south of Maple Ridge. A water channel called Bedford Channel separates the island from Fort Langley. The island covers an area of about 1.78 square kilometres.

How McMillan Island Formed

McMillan Island is mostly made up of fine dirt and sand, called silt, along with other bits of material carried by the Fraser River. The river's strong currents have shaped the island over a very long time.

Thousands of years ago, about 10,000 years ago, this area was a peninsula. A peninsula is land almost surrounded by water, but still connected to the mainland. Over time, the river's erosion wore away parts of this peninsula. Eventually, it became a much larger island than it is today.

Later, a new channel formed between this big island and the mainland. This slowed down the river's flow. As the water slowed, more silt and debris settled. This material slowly connected the island to what is now Fort Langley. Then, a small part of the original island broke off, creating the McMillan Island we see today.

How the Island Changed Over Time

As recently as the 1920s, McMillan Island was actually two separate islands. The northwestern part was called Brae Island, and the southeastern part was McMillan. A very narrow channel of water separated them.

After the Jacob Haldi Bridge was built, the river's flow changed. Sediment, which is like fine sand and mud, slowly filled in the upstream part of that narrow channel. This natural process eventually joined the two islands together, forming the single McMillan Island we know now.

What You Can Find on the Island

There is a bridge called Glover Road that connects McMillan Island to Fort Langley across the Bedford Channel. You can also find several docks on the island. These docks were once used by the Albion Ferry, which carried cars and people across the river.

A large part of McMillan Island, about 68 hectares, used to be Brae Island. The Metro Vancouver Regional District bought this land in 1995. Much of it is now a beautiful place called Brae Island Regional Park. Some of this park land is leased for a private campground. The rest of the former Brae Island, about 1.5 hectares, belongs to the Township of Langley.

The area that was originally McMillan Island is now a reserve for the Kwantlen First Nation. This reserve is called "McMillan Island 6." It is the largest and most populated of the Kwantlen Nation's seven reserves, covering about 191 hectares. In 2016, about 94 people lived on the reserve. It has 22 homes and the Kwantlen Nation's Band Office.

Island History and People

The Kwantlen First Nation's Home

McMillan Island is a very important part of the traditional lands of the Kwantlen First Nation. This reserve is where their main village is located. The Kwantlen people moved their village here after Fort Langley was built. They did this partly to control trade with the fort. It also gave them protection from attacks, as they were under the fort's guns.

Their previous main village was at a place called Qayqyat, or Kikait. This was across the Fraser River from New Westminster, in an area now known as Brownsville in the Bridgeview neighbourhood of Surrey.

The Kwantlen Nation's traditional territory overlaps with the lands of other First Nations, including the Kwikwetlem, Tsawwassen, and Katzie nations. Their territory stretches up the Fraser River as far as the Stave River. Beyond that is the territory of the Matsqui nation. Most of the Kwantlen Nation's reserves are on the north side of the Fraser River.

The island was named after James McMillan. He was a fur trader from the HBC who helped start Fort Langley. He visited this area in 1824 and again in 1827.

The Albion Ferry's Past

On the north side of McMillan Island, there used to be a dock. This dock was the southern end of the Albion Ferry route. The ferry carried vehicles and people across the Fraser River. However, when the Golden Ears Bridge opened, the ferry service was no longer needed and stopped running.