John Morton was walking around New Westminster one day when he came across a store with a lump of coal in the front display case. Because he was a potter, he knew coal and clay were commonly found together. This knowledge was what prompted him to ask for the coal’s origins. He was told the coal was brought from somewhere on the Burrard Inlet. Still curious, Morton then hired a Native guide to take him to the Burrard Inlet. While the inlet did indeed have some coal along its banks, not much clay could be found. Instead, what stood out the to Morton the most on his little mini expedition was the beauty of the inlet. The inlet’s beauty was what inspired a new thought of his: Why not buy and own the land near this beautiful inlet? Morton decided to follow through with this thought and thankfully, his other companions agreed too.
This real story of John Morton discovering Burrard Inlet’s beauties by first being interested in an ordinary lump of coal was what led to the Three Greenhorns buying the area known today as the West End. It is almost ironic to think that of all things that could have led to Morton’s first trip to Burrard Inlet, it was a plain, boring lump of coal that set off a chain of significant events in the West End’s history. Written by Emily L. |