School Name History

Location

35139 Laburnum Avenue, Abbotsford, BC

Opened

2003

The School

In 1907, a small schoolhouse for the children of the brick plant workers was built in Clayburn Village. Originally, it was one room but later expanded to two rooms. It was also raised, and a basement was added.  The school closed in 1983. When the name of the new school on Laburnum Avenue was announced, the school board said the name Clayburn Middle “carries on that tradition [of the original small village school].” Clayburn Middle School was opened on October 17, 2003. On opening day, there were already portables in place, because the anticipated enrolment was over the school’s capacity of six hundred students. As of 2023, the school enrolled over seven hundred students in Grades 6 to 8. The school staff emphasized putting students first by instituting a healthy canteen program, no-cut athletic programs, daily physical education, and inclusion of special education students

Origin of the Name

Clayburn Middle School was named in honour of the early settlement of Clayburn Village and the Clayburn Brick Company which built the village almost one hundred years ago. Another school in the district, John Maclure Community School, was built in honour of John Cunningham Maclure who was the first homesteader in Abbotsford. His family founded the Clayburn brick plant, and he named the village Clayburn.

Clayburn Creek runs from the hills of Sumas Mountain through Matsqui Prairie to the Fraser River.  “Burn” is the Scottish word for creek. The blending of the words “clay” and “burn” is thought to be the origin of the name Clayburn.

Clayburn Village was British Columbia’s first company town. The Vancouver Fireclay Company was established in 1905 and started manufacturing bricks using the rich clay deposits of Sumas Mountain. These clay deposits were discovered by Charles Maclure, son of early pioneer John Cunningham Maclure. In 1909, the Vancouver Fireclay Company changed its name to Clayburn Company Limited. By 1918 it was the leading brick company in British Columbia and its bricks were shipped all over the world.

The original townsite of Clayburn Village was built between 1905 and 1908. In 1906, when a post office was opened in Charles Purver’s store, a village name was needed and the town of Clayburn was established. Clayburn Village had water, power, sewer, a doctor’s office, a church, a store and a little one room school. The Maclure family homestead, Hazelbrae, was located west of Clayburn.   Many Maclure family members became involved with Charles in the development of the brick plant. The architect Samuel Maclure, older brother to Charles, is thought to have designed the original homes and the concept of the townsite.

The pre-1909 brick row of houses in Clayburn Village were designed after the Arts and Crafts Movement.  The use of bricks, shingles, beautiful window details, and other interior designs were featured. Employees were able to rent the homes in Clayburn Village at three to five dollars per month.

An independent store had been built by 1911.  The Cooper Seldon Company general store was operated by the Cooper family until 1972. There were other independent stores including Case’s store, Bullock’s butcher shop, a Chinese laundry and a blacksmith shop, but none remain today.

In 1917, the community was vibrant and active with many sports teams. A soccer pitch, tennis court, and small golf course were built behind the houses and were all well used, but they no longer exist. In the 1930s, the Great Depression caused hard economic times for Canada and much of the world. It was too costly to run two sites. Kilgard was closer to the source of clay within Sumas Mountain and the train trestles bringing the clay to Clayburn needed repair. It was decided to close the plant in Clayburn. The plant was taken down during the 1930s and by 1940 nothing remained except a few ruined foundations.