White Rock, British Columbia

Clock and lookout platform

The white rock

The Straits Salish people dominated the region from Boundary Bay in the north to Birch Bay in the south (in the U.S.). Semiahmoo First Nation permanent encampments were known to exist between 1791, the first European contact, and the 1850s, the beginnings of European settlement. These were located along the waterfront at the eastern and western limits of the present City of White Rock. The Semiahmoo people also constructed forts as lookouts for raiders from the northern first nations; one is located in the Ocean Park area.

The Oregon boundary dispute culminated in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which settled the outstanding border issues between Great Britain and the United States. Previously, these issues had been put on hold through a shared occupancy agreement of the Oregon territory by the two nations in the Treaty of 1818. In turn, the International Boundary Survey Commission began in 1857 to set the boundary between the United States and British North America, roughly along the 49th parallel, which runs through Semiahmoo Bay and Boundary Bay to Point Roberts, Washington.

The Semiahmoo Trail still exists in White Rock and South Surrey, running from the site of the Boundary Commission Camp at the estuary of the Campbell River, overland to Mud Bay north of Crescent Beach. An 1865 survey map calls this route the 'Telegraph Trail'. During the real-estate boom of the 1980s and 90s, the City of Surrey preserved much of the trail, extending it from 20 Avenue to the Nicomekl River. On 148 Street, a specially constructed "Semiahmoo Trail" pedestrian overpass keeps the trail intact.

The city from White Rock Pier

The modern history of White Rock is directly tied to the railway linking British Columbia to Washington state, which runs along the shore of Semiahmoo Bay to the border. The rail is currently owned by BNSF Railway and runs alongside the promenade at the beach. This was originally the Great Northern line, and it opened up White Rock and Crescent Beach to tourists from Vancouver and New Westminster in the early 1900s.[5] The border crossing closest to White Rock (at Douglas, B.C., and Blaine, Washington) was officially opened in 1908, and the Peace Arch at the border crossing was constructed in the 1920s.

In 1913, the present railway station was opened, and the Fox and Hunter Shingle mill began operation. The Campbell River Mill also opened to the east, bringing a minor boom in the local economy. The now-famous pier was opened in 1914 to provide a deep-water mooring facility.

In the 1950s, White Rock residents began to feel isolated from the then–District of Surrey, where development was being concentrated elsewhere, particularly in North Surrey and Cloverdale. On April 15, 1957, a special warrant from the Government of British Columbia created the City of White Rock within its present boundary.

In the 1950s, Peace Arch Hospital opened and continues as a major employer in the city and health facility for the region.

Development was concentrated near the waterfront until the 1960s and 1970s. Many small cliffside dwellings were affordable to those unable to pay the cost of living closer to Vancouver. White Rock gained a reputation for being a retirement centre, as it features the lowest rainfall in the Metro Vancouver region, while benefitting from the influence of the ocean, keeping both summers highs and winter lows bearable.[6]

The development of Highway 99 and the opening of the Deas Island Tunnel (now the George Massey Tunnel) created a second boom for the White Rock area, providing a more convenient commuter route to Vancouver. No longer dependent upon the railway, development crept up the hillside. In the 1980s, the City of Surrey designated South Surrey as a town centre comparable to Guildford, Cloverdale, and Newton. The Semiahmoo Mall opened in Surrey on the north side of 16 Avenue (the south side of which is North Bluff Road within White Rock).

In 1979, chartered accountant Tom Kirstein and architect Chip Barrett organized an annual sandcastle competition,[7] which became internationally famous. The event took advantage of the long, sandy beach exposed at low tide, giving enough time for entrants to construct elaborate displays. Prizes of up to $10,000 were awarded, and crowds of 150,000 were estimated at the competition's height. In 1987, the contest was ended because of security costs and concerns. In 2008, a group of local high school students (Sara Woodward, Jorden Abernethy, Daniel Fowler, Michael Vanderpolder, and Tasha Svenson) and members of the community (Spenser Bolen, Michael Nolan, Trixie Nolan, and Lisa Nolan) launched a Sandcastle Competition revival. This competition drew 40,000 guests and over 70 teams.

The 1970s saw the White Rock/South Surrey area develop into a suburban bedroom community of the Lower Mainland. A real-estate boom in the area drew many young families to homes marketed to young professionals, a process that intensified in the mid-1990s. Today, many parts of the community resemble the type of suburban development seen across North America. Some cliffside cottages have given way to large homes, and multimillion-dollar properties have appeared in the area.

In the late 1980s, the development of the Peninsula Village Mall on 24 Avenue in Surrey pushed development farther north and hurt some small businesses in White Rock. Recent commercial and residential development in Surrey's Grandview Heights neighbourhood, east of Highway 99 at 24 Avenue, continues the trend of auto-oriented, suburban development in the surrounding area. While the City of White Rock lies ten blocks to the southwest of this 6.5-km big-box project, the community's centre of gravity may shift again as development continues.

Uptown White Rock has been the site of significant new developments in recent years, with medium-rise condos becoming more prominent. The City of White Rock's fire department was located half a block north of its city limits until the early 1990s, when a new firehall was built across from City Hall. In 2007, the White Rock Little League team made it to the Little League World Series.

On December 20, 2018, during a severe windstorm, the White Rock Pier was severed when sailboats broke free from the attached marina and crashed into the pier destroying a 30-metre section.[8] At least 15 boats sank and several were wedged underneath the pier's pilings. Replacement plans call for a new pier that could be built by the end of August 2019, with an early cost estimate that is projected to be over $5 million.[9] As of May 2, 2019 the cost estimate for a rebuild to modern seismic standards is $16.2 million.[10] On August 28, 2019 the pier re-opened to the public although certain elements such as lighting have yet to be completed.[11]

Promenade and Semiahmoo Bay, from the pier

White Rock has a moderate climate, with average daily high temperatures of 23 degrees Celsius in summer and 6 degrees Celsius in winter.[12]

White Rock's climate is moderate year-round. Because the city is set away from the Coast Mountains, it sees less fog, fewer rainy days and shorter snowfalls. Meteorological statistics show that White Rock does, in fact, receive 20 percent more sunshine than does Vancouver. Temperatures average 21 °C (70 °F) in summer and 6 °C (43 °F) in winter. Annual rainfall averages 1,108 mm (43.6 in).[13]

A freight train runs along the beach as the sun sets in 2009

Transportation in White Rock largely revolves around the automobile. Highway 99 is a freeway that links the White Rock area with Vancouver to the north and U.S. Interstate 5, via the Peace Arch border crossing, to the south. King George Highway (Highway 99A) links the Peace Arch border with Surrey Central station and New Westminster via the soon-to-be-replaced Pattullo Bridge. Johnston Road (152 Street) links White Rock to Guildford and the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).

Most of White Rock's bus routes run through the White Rock Centre transit exchange. From there, the 351 and 354 buses, which previously ran to downtown Vancouver, now terminate at Bridgeport station in Richmond; Vancouver-bound passengers have to transfer onto the Canada Line rapid transit line. Only one route serving the area, the 352 Ocean Park/Bridgeport Station express bus, does not run through White Rock Centre, instead terminating near the South Surrey Athletic Park. The 321, 345, and 394 buses provide service to North Surrey, notably to Surrey Central and King George Skytrain stations, and the 375 service runs through White Rock Centre from just north of the Peace Arch border crossing to Guildford Town Centre. The 531 bus runs from White Rock Centre to Willowbrook Mall in Langley. Community Shuttle routes, the 360, 361, 362, and 363, service local communities within White Rock and South Surrey.

BNSF Railway has a single-track main line through White Rock that runs the length of the White Rock beach promenade. The city itself has no train service; however, this rail line is a major corridor for goods transported between the ports of Vancouver and the continental U.S., as well as for the Amtrak Cascades passenger service between Seattle and Vancouver via Bellingham, Washington. The Canadian National Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) also have trackage rights along the line. Goods transported on the corridor include Canadian softwood lumber, coal, paper products, and general merchandise. The CPR runs regular potash trains along the line to the Canpotex export terminal in Oregon.[18]