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Finn Slough BC – a marine community on the Fraser River

by John M. MacFarlane 2014 (updated 2021)

I first visited Finn Slough in 2014, when the tide was out. Just recently my friend Robert Hanna sent me new images that he took at high tide. The impression they give is very different from my own. The community takes some effort to locate and you need to park and approach it on foot. It is small and visitors should show respect in their demeanor while visiting as the residents value their privacy.

Finn Slough

Drawbridge across Finn Slough in 2014 (Photo from Nauticapedia Collection.)

The south side of the Slough is located on Gilmore Island, a low piece of land which has been acretting from river–borne sediments since the settlement was established (and perhaps even before). The island side is accessed by a wooden foot drawbridge. The residents note that "it creates a definite sense of isolation from the urban areas of Richmond and Vancouver". Finn Slough is a unique place in the midst of a busy city that truly moves in harmony with the river.

Finn Slough

The entrance to the slough on the Fraser river, at high tide, in 2021. (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

Unusually the residents have posted an interpretive panel to explain the significance of their community. Next to it is a community bulletin board that gives a glimpse into the vibrant life generated by the residents.

Finn Slough

The interpretive panel at the entrance to the community in 2021. (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

Finn Slough

Community bulletin board in 2021. (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

Parking is very limited along the dike road.

Finn Slough

The dike road in 2021 (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

A fishboat named Eva is indelibly associated with this community.

Eva

Al Mason painting the name on the bow of the wooden gillnetter Eva. (Photo from the Al Mason Collection.)

The Eva (licence number 13K3752) was built in 1937 at the Suzuki Brothers Boat Yard as a Japanese–style double–ended gillnetter. She is 29.6’ x 8.0’ x 3.0’ carvel plank construction, cedar over oak. She was originally owned by Henry Jacobson, from Finn Slough BC. She required rebuilding by the Kishi Brothers Shipyard in the 1950s. In the 1960s she was owned by Gus Jacobsen (Henry’s nephew), also of Finn Slough BC. In late 1990s Al Mason, a highly skilled model builder and shipwright, traded a beautifully constructed scale model of the Eva for the vessel herself. She fished commercially to 1993 with fishing licence #23653.

Mason also worked on the rebuilding of the 127 foot Miki–tug tug Kuulakai, docked in Steveston BC. The Kuulakai was built in 1944, as the former U.S. Transportation Corps tug L.T.465. There is an interesting video showing Mason working on the restoration of this fine old tug boat.

Finn Slough

Finn Slough at low tide. (Photo from Nauticapedia Collection.)

Finn Slough

Finn Slough at high tide in 2021 (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

Finn Slough is a tiny Fraser River fishing community located at the south end of No. 4 Road in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. The community has approximately 30 residents who live in wooden houses, both floating and built on stilts, along the marshy river bank.

The Finn Slough settlement was established in the early 1880s by immigrant Finnish fishermen. One of the last tidal communities in British Columbia it is bounded by Gilmore Island on the Fraser River side and by the dyke that protects Richmond from Fraser River flooding. In the 1940s and 1950s the community had grown to 70 households.

Finn Slough

Structure built on pilings. At high tide and spring freshet the water rises up beneath the structures. (Photo from Nauticapedia Collection.)

Today the properties exist without official land tenure status. The residents have been working since 1993 to obtain a Crown Lease but little progress has been made to date. The community makes a voluntary payment, in lieu of taxes, to the City of Richmond for services that they receive. Residents installed composting toilets to reduce the ecological impact on the river habitats.

Finn Slough

Float home grounded in the mud during low tide. (Photo from Nauticapedia Collection.)

Finn Slough

Vessels afloat at high tide in 2021 (Photo from the Robert Hanna Collection.)

The homes on the Slough are mainly built on pilings but some are built on floats. The structures on pilings are often converted from old net sheds and old original scow houses built by the early Finnish fishermen.


To quote from this article please cite:

MacFarlane, John M. (2014) The Gillnetter Eva in Finn Slough BC. Nauticapedia.ca 2014. http://nauticapedia.ca/Articles/Finn_Slough.php

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