Langley History · November 9, 2026
THE CAPITAL THAT ALMOST WAS
1858
Langley was almost the capital of BC
In 1858 a town called Derby was laid out beside the old fort site, meant to be the mainland's capital.
THE PLAN
A capital named after a prime minister
Surveyors Pemberton and Pearse laid out the town site on the south bank of the Fraser.
It was likely named for the Earl of Derby, Britain's prime minister in 1858. Town lots were surveyed and sold.
PLOT TWIST
One man said no
Colonel Richard Moody of the Royal Engineers arrived in December 1858 and did not like the site.
He picked a spot across the river instead. Queen Victoria named it New Westminster in 1859.
WHAT IS LEFT
Only the name survived
The town of Derby never grew. Today the only place that still carries the name is Derby Reach.
It is now a regional park, with river trails where a capital city was supposed to be.
The full story
Why a capital, and why here
The gold rush of 1858 brought thousands of miners up the Fraser, and the new Colony of British Columbia needed a capital on the mainland.
Governor James Douglas looked to the land beside the original Fort Langley, on the south bank of the river. Surveyors Pemberton and Pearse laid out a town there, and it was named Derby, most likely after the Earl of Derby, Britain's prime minister that year.
Moody's objection
Colonel Richard Moody, commander of the Royal Engineers, arrived in December 1858 and disapproved of the site. He chose higher ground on the north bank instead, where the Pitt, Coquitlam and Fraser rivers meet.
Queen Victoria named the new capital New Westminster in 1859. Derby was left as lines on a survey map.
Derby today
The name lives on in one place: Derby Reach, the stretch of river and the regional park beside it.
The park's later farm buildings, like the Houston House and the Karr Mercer barn, stand on land that was once meant to hold a capital city.
See it yourself
Derby Reach Regional Park
Sources