Whonnock History

Where is Whonnock?

Whonnock’s position on the globe is: 49° 11' 00" N - 122° 28' 00" W. It’s about 50 kilometres inland from Vancouver on the north shore of the Fraser. Whonnock and Ruskin form the eastern part of the District of Maple Ridge.

Whonnock was better known in the 19th century than it is today. It was literary put on the map and in the people’s mind by getting a railway station right when the trains started running across Canada in 1885. The settlement just happened to be at the right place: 10 miles from Hammond—the distance between stations required by the building contract of the railroad.

This 1892 map shows where Whonnock (Wharnock) is located. Hammond, Haney, and Whonnock (Warnock) are all part of the District on Maple Ridge.

By 1892 the railroad had been extended from Port Moody to Vancouver and a side track reached New Westminster. Other railroad services reached out to Bellingham and beyond.

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