For Abbotsford businesses, Lighthouse Marketing Inc. has offered website design, marketing, content editing and SEO services for over 18 years.
Abbotsford was named after Harry Abbott, the Western Superintendent of the C.P.R. On July 9th, 1891 the Village of Abbotsford was born. The completion of the CPR to Vancouver in 1887 brought an influx of new settlers to the area, and the District of Sumas was incorporated on January 5th, 1892, while Matsqui was incorporated on November 21st, 1892.
Once the C.P.R. line was laid through Abbotsford other railways soon followed suit; it was these railways and easy access to the Fraser River that made commercial development possible, which in turn drew more newcomers to the area. In it’s heyday, the Abbotsford Lumber Company was not only the largest employer in the community but soon became the third largest forestry employer in the province, employing Japanese, Chinese, and East Indian workers at wages only slightly lower than those of the ethnic white workers, which encouraged these minority groups to settle in the community.
New enterprises such as hop and tobacco farms were established, while the dairy industry expanded. The first creamery built to make butter and cheese for distribution was established at Sardis in 1887, and by 1910 almost 500,000 pounds of butter was being shipped to the coastal markets annually. With the establishment of the B. C. Electric Railway the lower mainland was opened up to Fraser Valley fresh milk sales and the Fraser Valley Milk Producers Association was formed in 1913. When the Abbotsford Lumber Company closed the mill in the 1930’s, the land that had been logged was parcelled and sold off as farmland to new settlers. More farms sprang up on these parcels of land, and over time, agriculture began to replace the lumber industry.
After the attack on Pearl Harbour, in an attempt to strengthen the Allied military defence position along the entire west coast, the Canadian military built the largest military airport on a 900 acre wooded site at Abbotsford. The airport opened on July 14, 1943. Today, the Abbotsford International Airport is the home to several commercial airlines as well as the Abbotsford International Airshow, Cascade Aerospace and Tradex.
The Village of Abbotsford and the District of Sumas amalgamated in 1971 to become the District of Abbotsford, and in 1995 the District of Abbotsford, in turn, amalgamated with the District of Matsqui and became the City of Abbotsford.
Today, Abbotsford is home to its own university, The University of the Fraser Valley, with over 15,000 students enrolled annually. It is the fifth largest municipality in British Columbia with a population of over 133,000 people, including the third highest proportion of visible minorities among Census Metropolitan Areas in Canada. We have become The City in the Country, a place with its very own delicious flavour.
About Lighthouse Marketing
Lighthouse Marketing Inc. specializes in visually appealing, mobile friendly website design. We are an independently owned 18 year old Canadian company based in the Lower Mainland of BC, not affiliated with any other organization in North America bearing a similar name.
In addition to our existing website services, the past 3 years has seen dynamic growth in the area of SEO services, particularly with regard to local search. Our evolution to a full service SEO company means that we now offer complete online business solutions that involve Google local search as well as an effective social media strategy.
Lighthouse Marketing services the Surrey, Langley, Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, White Rock, Delta, New Westminster, Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, and Abbotsford areas, as well as other locations throughout the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley.