School Name History

Location

5291 Bradner Road, Abbotsford, BC 

Opened

1894; 1913 new one-room building (burned 1924); 1925 new two-room building

The School

The first school in 1894 was a two-room log building, originally Thomas Bradner’s horse barn. It was built at the corner of Bradner and Elsie Roads. The first teacher, Miss Wood, had seven students. The school had handmade double desks and the teacher’s desk stood on a raised platform. The school also served as a church until 1913.  

Origin of the Name

The school is named after the community of Bradner, which is named in honour of an early pioneer, Thomas Bradner. Thomas Bradner arrived in Ontario from Ireland in 1853. He moved to B.C. in 1895 and homesteaded at the corner of Bradner and Elsie Roads where he cleared the land and raised livestock. In 1911, he sold the land to the B.C. Electric Railway and his name was given to the train station across from a log building which was the school. A store, Post Office, and an Anglican church were located nearby. The Bradner community’s name was made official in 1910. After selling this property, Thomas Bradner moved to Mission where he ran a dairy farm. He died in Matsqui in 1919.