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In 1958, the province of British Columbia celebrated its Centennial. 1858 was the year Governor James Douglas declared the mainland of British Columbia a British colony. This declaration was made at Fort Langley. Langley was therefore at the centre of the 100th anniversary celebrations in 1958. The Fort Langley National Historic Site was reconstructed by the federal government and officially opened in July by Princess Margaret. The Langley Centennial Museum was opened across the street and people in Langley participated in a wide range of commemorative events ranging from beard growing contests to pageants.
Term Source: Sears List of Subject Headings (16th. Ed.)

www.parkscanada.gc.ca/langley ***** The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Langley in 1827 about 50 km. from the mouth of the Fraser River. The Company's first fort was established on the Fraser River in present day Derby Reach Regional Park, two miles downstream from what is now the village of Fort Langley. Recognition that the site of the fort was vulnerable to flooding and too far from its farming operations resulted in its relocation further upstream on a higher piece of land. A second fort was thus established at the site of the current reconstructed Fort in 1839. It burned in 1840 and was immediately rebuilt in the same location. The Fort mainly served as a provisioning post producing agricultural products and Salmon. The Hudson's Bay Company Fort went to pasture after the company moved its operations to the village of Fort Langley in 1886. From 1888 to the 1920's, the Mavis family farm occupied the land that would later become a National Historic Site. In the late teens and early 1920's, many became interested in the preservation of the historic fort site. Fort Langley was recognized by the federal government's Historic Sites and Monuments Board. At the Board's urging, the local community raised money to purchase three acres of the fur trading post in 1924, including the last remaining building. The HSMB and Native Sons unveiled a plaque commemorating the site in 1925. Between 1931 and 1958, the Native Sons operated a museum display in the Store House, the last remaining Hudson's Bay Company building. In 1955, the Fort was declared a National Historic Site. During the 1958 Centennial (the 100 year anniversary of Governor James Douglas declaring the mainland of present-day British Columbia a British colony), the federal government undertook the partial reconstruction of palisades and buildings at the Fort. The same year saw the construction of the Langley Centennial Museum.

The paper was originally entitled the Langley Advance, and was first published July 23, 1931.The paper was started by Ernest J. Cox, who had moved to BC from North Battleford, Saskatchewan to take a half interest in the Abbotsford News along with Gerald Heller. At the same time, the Langley Board of Trade had been negotiating with Heller to start a paper in Langley: Cox took up the task. A few months after the Advance was founded, Cox and Heller went their separate ways, and Cox retained the Langley paper and Heller kept the Abbotsford paper. Cox ran the paper with the help of his wife and two teenaged children. After the war, son Fred Cox returned to the paper along with George Johnson (an RAF instructor) who had married daughter, Kathleen Cox. In 1947 Jim Schatz joined the paper. In 1949 The Langley Advance Publishing Co. Ltd. was formed with principals E.J. and Fred Cox, Johnson, and Schatz. E.J. Cox went into semi-retirement in 1958, and Fred Cox sold his interests in the paper, but took controlling interest of the commercial printing portion of the business. Schatz served as publisher and editor, and was well known in the BC newspaper industry. In 1981 Bob Groeneveld became editor, and remains editor today (2005).
Term Source: Paper Trails: a history of British Columbia and Yukon Community Newspapers, 1999 (by George Allan Afflek).

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was born 21 August 1930. She was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and sister of Queen Elizabeth II. She held the title Countess of Snowdon by marriage. Princess Margaret visited Fort Langley on July 22, 1958 as part of a tour of British Columbia to mark the centennial. She officially opened the restored Fort Langley Historic Site and toured the Langley Centennial Museum during her visit. She died on 9 February 2002.