The “untold” history of Cloverdale’s Scott family will be revealed at an upcoming Museum of Surrey talk.
When the Scott family settled a seven-acre farm in Surrey in 1912, they were one of the few African-American families in the area, according to research by the Surrey Historical Society.
The upcoming history discussion promises to “uncover the untold story of Cloverdale’s Scott family during the mid-twentieth century,” according to the event listing on the City of Surrey website.
“Local black history is brought to the forefront as a family’s past is explored.”
The discussion will take place on Saturday, Feb. 9, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Museum of Surrey (17710 56A Ave.).
The talk comes nearly a year after the Surrey Historical Society made their research on the Scott family public. In April 2018, the society marked the Scott family grave in Surrey Centre Cemetery in a quiet, informal ceremony.
The final resting place of Henry Houston, Amy Florence and their children Jesse, Roy and Benola had gone unmarked for 84 years before the society worked to have it installed. The Surrey Centre Cemetery is the final resting place for many of Surrey’s pioneers and veterans: the Kells, Johnstons, Boothroyds, Boses and now the Scotts.
According to the Surrey Historical Society, Henry Houston Scott’s history has been traced back to his birth in Texas in 1854, nearly a decade before slavery was abolished in the United States.
Scott met and married Amy Florence in Texas, and the couple moved to Oklahoma before coming to Canada in 1912 with their three youngest children. (The elder seven children were old enough to have their own lives by then.)
In Cloverdale, Scott cleared a road from Bose Road (64 Avenue) and Pacific Highway (176 Street) up to the family farm, which is where 181A Street would be today. If you go to the intersection of 64 Avenue and 181A Street, you can still see a handful of fruit trees that belonged to the Scott family.
To learn more about the Scott family’s history in the Cloverdale community, register for the free upcoming historical seminar at the Museum of Surrey. Call 604-501-5100 with barcode 4629032 or register online here.
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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