The Neighborhood
Featuring: Films, Tunnels, Unmarked Graves, Psychiatric Hospital’s, Child Torture and Serial Killers.
Riverview Psychiatric Hospital
The Pickton family put down roots in Port Coquitlam in 1905 when William Pickton bought land near Essondale Mental Hospital. (Later renamed Riverview) There, the family raised hogs until their land was expropriated for the Lougheed Highway.
BC Mental Health Timeline
1904 To relieve overcrowding, 48 male patients are transferred to a small asylum in Vernon, and the BC government purchases 1,000 acres in rural Coquitlam as the site for a new mental hospital – the beginning of Riverview Hospital.1905 Using mostly patient labour, housed on-site in temporary buildings, the Coquitlam site is cleared and diked, and Colony Farm is established to grow food for the PHI.
The Pickton Family set down roots on an adjacent farm in 1905.
Riverview Horticultural Centre Society was founded in 1992. Its mission is to preserve and protect the Lands and Trees of the Riverview Hospital site as a community oriented, financially viable centre for horticultural, educational and therapeutic activities.
the Beginning: In 1904, 1000 acres of land at the junction of the Coquitlam and Fraser Rivers were set aside for a Psychiatric Hospital and Botanical Garden for BC. Since 1913 a hospital has operated on the site and in its heyday during the 1950’s, Essondale (as it was then called), was a self-sufficient community with 4300 patients cared for by 2000 staff. The Riverview Lands today comprise the remaining 244 acres of the original parcel that once included the present Colony Farm, Riverview Forest, and the Riverview Heights subdivision.
Tunnels
From Wraiths Website (Tunnel Explorers)
History: The West Lawn building opened on April 1, 1913, accommodating 300 patients, the first of six large buildings constructed on the Riverview site. Others slowly followed.
In its early years, the Hospital was alone in the countryside with no development around it, not even a highway – just the railroad with a whistle-stop called “Essondale”.
Riverview Hospital : Tunnels I Page I Page II
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Unmarked graves
There is/ was a cemetery serving the hospital. I am looking for more information on its history, I believe it may have been called Woodlawn? -Hazel.
It should be mentioned there is a fairly good sized cemetery there wherein many of the folks who were patients, found their final resting place.
Almost 3,000 people who died in government care and were unclaimed were buried at Woodlands between 1926 and 1957. In 1977, a Social Credit cabinet order-in-council resulted in the people’s headstones-about 1,800 of them-being pulled up and the area grassed over and redesignated as a park. McCallum discovered that some of the headstones were used to construct a staff barbecue patio and stairs. After 1958, unclaimed bodies were sent to UBC as cadavers.
Child Torture – Class Action Suit
on behalf of all persons who were previously confined to Woodlands and who suffered abuse including, but not limited to, physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and/or who failed to receive a proper education while being confined to Woodlands.
Poyner Baxter LLP Class Action Suit
March 18, 2005
In a judgment released March 17, Madam Justice Nancy Morrison of the British Columbia Supreme Court has certified a class action suit brought against the government of British Columbia on behalf of an estimated 1,500 former residents of Woodlands School, most of whom are severely handicapped.
It is a significant milepost in a long journey. Poyner Baxter filed the class action in 2002.
Poyner Baxter commenced an action against Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia on August 2nd, 2002. This action is brought on the Plaintiff’s behalf and on behalf of all persons who were previously confined to Woodlands and who suffered abuse including, but not limited to, physical, sexual, emotional and psychological abuse and/or who failed to receive a proper education while being confined to Woodlands.
A Case Management Conference is proceeding on January 24th, 2003, before Madam Justice Morrison.
To review the Statement of Claim that was filed, please click on the link below:
Filming
Today the facility is used by the film industry. (Accomodation & Real Estate Services) ARES manages the facilities special uses and events.
ARES manages, on behalf of the Province, a diverse real estate portfolio of leased and government owned properties that extend throughout the province. At March 31, 2006 the portfolio included 17 million square feet (1.6 million square metres) of space. It includes a wide variety of types of properties/facilities, ranging from the Vancouver Law Courts and Robson Square Complex to heritage buildings dating from the 1860s, and includes: office buildings, residential institutions, courthouses, correctional centres and other types of special purpose facilities (e.g., forestry complexes, ambulance stations, health units, highways facilities).
“Supernatural” a modern day Hardy Boys scare ‘em adventure loves the deeply weathered look for many of their sets. Production Designer Jerry Wanek who also designed the sets of “Dark Angel” excels at this.
Here are just a few of many photos to come from this series. A lobby in one of the buildings of the infamous Riverview Mental Hospital has been converted to a ghetto squat for some troublesome characters.
From Pickton Map
Documenting the last known whereabouts of the 26 known victims of a serial killer,
and other points of interest. Robert William Pickton has been charged with 26 of
over 50 murders and is currently standing trial in New Westminster BC for the first
six. Sereena Abotsway, Marnie Frey, Andrea Joesbury, Georgina Papin, Mona Wilson
and Brenda Wolfe.
Wow that is quite the write up . It always amazes me when i read how bad people were treated years ago. It was more easy to rule people insain, rather than deal with people we do now. It was like they were treated like the devil’s children rather than actually show compassion or undertanding. I know if families could not take care of their loved ones they were redeemed Insain and put into institutions, Very sad
Very intresting.
Hello Dora, it is quite a past the psychiatry industry has. I was just watching CNN last night on the criminally insane. Its so very sad, there is even less available for housing these people then ever. Our medical system and our justice system need help integrating in order to do right by the ill, and protect the innocent.
I also think the homeless situation is tied to this larger institutional crisis North Americans on both sides of the border are dealing with.
A silver lining may be found in the advances psychology and psychiatry have made. It would be nice to find a better solution than the recycling of whare housing as described by the CNN show.
I have been looking for more information and photos on Riverview. I think the site that I really liked was that Wraiths one you were talking about. Is that gone now?
Hi C.A. I really like the wraiths site too. This group is just so super cool imho.
It seems wraiths.org has become a private site. But they now have http://www.wraiths.ca/ check it out, have fun, and thanks for writing. RE Wraiths Riverview try http://www.wraiths.ca/Riverview.htm I’ll fix the link in the post thanks to you.
Cheers!
I was stumbling along the internet and decided to see who had links to me, so I wandered on over. Great blog you have here. And I’m glad you like my site.
Welcome Jester! I’m a big fan, love what you do.