Beginning of Craigflower

The Hudson’s Bay Company established several farms to make the western fur-trading forts self-sufficient. Kenneth McKenzie, an experienced farm bailiff from Scotland, was hired to run the Craigflower Farm, the largest farm of four at 900 acres. Seventy-three farmers and tradespeople from Scotland landed in January, 1853 at Fort Victoria from the Norman Morrison supply ship and built Craigflower Manor and Schoolhouse.

Twenty-one buildings were located on Front Street at the water edge near the Manor. The farm, slaughterhouse and bakery provided meat, bread and hardtack to the Royal Navy, Fort Victoria and other customers. The marginal soil fertility led to the dissolution of the Company farms in 1865, and McKenzie and his family moved to a sheep farm on Christmas Hill. The farm was leased to a series of tenants for uses such as a social club, dairy farm, recreation hall and charitable camp for girls. In 1911, much of the pasture land was used for the formation of the Songhees Reserve.

In 1936, the derelict Front Street buildings were replaced with an auto court and the remaining farm property was sold as building lots.