Vancouver Centennial Plaque #19 – The Avalon Dairy

“THE AVALON DAIRY

Established in 1906 as the Avalon Ranch by Jeremiah Crowley and renamed the Avalon Dairy in 1956 by his son Everett, it is now operated by the grandson, Lee. This is the oldest family-run dairy in B.C.”

Credit: Vancouver Centennial Commission, Historic Plaque Program – list and documentation plaques 1-49 (June 18, 1986). Courtesy of Vancouver Archives

Jeremiah Crowley was born on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland in 1875. He followed the Klondike Gold Rush, but found there were too many people with the same idea, so he worked at a logging camp on Vancouver Island instead. He returned home to marry his sweetheart and start a family, but always wanted to return to the favourable farmland of BC.

In 1906, Jeremiah, with his wife (Maud), their five children and her parents, arrived in Vancouver and bought a small farm, which included a house, a barn and six cows. In the early days, the dairy farm did not cover the family’s expenses, so Jeremiah continued to work as an iron moulder. Slowly but surely, the operation grew – Jeremiah’s focus on the quality of the herd is often cited as the reason they succeeded, while other small dairies failed.

Jeremiah’s son, Everett, took over the dairy, followed by his son, Lee.

The farm site is now a housing development, but the original house (plus plaque!) is still there.