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Construction began on the BCFMAM in June 1966 when the B.C. Farm Association's president, Archie Stevenson turned the sod in Fort Langley, next to the Langley Centennial Museum. In the 1950s, the museum was planned to be built out at UBC, but as the university kept expanding, it was deemed unsuitable. Fort Langley therefore, as the first to export agricultural commodities from the B.C. mainland, was chosen. Building began when funds had been raised nearly nine years later, and the museum was officially opened November 19, 1966 by Sir Robert Billinger, Lord Mayor of London. In December 1976, the provincial government gave the museum a grant, which was used to expand the facilities and improve the existing building.

Arthur William Wise was born April 28, 1912 in Acme Alberta, and attended the first Calgary Stampede that year. He married Kay, and the couple moved to Fort Langley in 1967. He was a past exalted ruler and lifetime member of the Acme and Langley Elks Clubs. He was the curator of the B.C. Farm Machinery Museum in Fort Langley for over 30 years. He volunteered to many causes and was elected the Citizen of the Year by the Township in 1989. Art lived in the Simpson's Hospital in Fort Langley before his passing on January 25, 2005.