Brackendale: a continuum of community
By MELANIE GREEN
T
HE railroad bridge over the Mamquam River in Brackendale was frequently uncrossable in the 1950s. Ellen Grant, a long-time Squamish resident, fondly remembers taking a canoe across the river to visit her grandfather, Harry Judd, one of the first settlers in the area.
Brackendale, located north of downtown Squamish, developed around transportation. With the railroad came houses, Grant says. Judd was a farmer who settled after adventuring to the land years prior. Other farms existed throughout the community. “Some had chickens, or fruit trees or somebody had a cow,” says Grant, a former school teacher of 40 years. 20 | Discover Squamish Winter 2017-18
“Everyone looked after themselves because when they relied on the boats to bring the supplies, it just wasn’t feasible.” The core of Brackendale is self-reliance and a sense of community, Grant asserts. “I have a great love for this area,” she said. The Judd Farm still stands. It was sold to a lifelong local resident who refused to tear the farmhouse down.
Grant too still lives in Brackendale. The Brackendale Art Gallery and its owner, Thor Froslev, are the strongest anchors of the community, Grant says. Froslev’s dream was always to have a gallery in the woods. In 1969, while having a slice of pumpkin pie, Froslev saw a property out the window on Government Road for sale and bought it.
