Cloverdale

Cloverdale is a designated town centre located within Surrey, British Columbia near Langley. It is a historic town that lies east of Vancouver. Cloverdale was founded during 1870 as a small farming community. The temperate climate and fertile land made it a perfect location for farming. Since that time, it has become enveloped by suburban area of Surrey and has grown into a small town within the suburbs.

Cloverdale is home to various heritage sites and several people refer to it as the historic centre of Surrey, BC. The City of Surrey's official Museum is located here as well as the Christ Church, amongst the region's oldest buildings. The church was built during 1882 and even though it is no longer used for worship, it is still a famous place utilized for weddings.

Around 1970, the town of Cloverdale was originally settled by the Shannon brothers, Thomas, William and Joseph. William was the one who gave the location its name "Clover Valley" based on the wild clover which was growing all over during that time.

The Surrey Centre was built on the home of the very first settlement, that sits 1.5 kilometres from the existing "downtown" area. The Town Hall was constructed during the year 1879, creating a center for the small community. The Town Hall is currently a part of the Surrey Museum. The Christ Church Anglican can still be located down Old McLellan Road.

The name "Cloverdale" came about when the New Westminster-Southern Railway pushed through the valley during 1891 connecting New Westminster to Bellingham. A station was built beside the existing town center and given the name Cloverdale. With the station in place, Cloverdale became a main transportation center. In its' heyday, there were 3 railways running through it. A couple of these railways are still in use.

A significant land boom occurred within the region in the years 1910 to 1911. A lot of the buildings within the downtown core region are from this time. Like for example, during 1912, a new Municipal Hall was constructed which has since been transformed to the Surrey Archives.

There is a colourful and unique community in the town of Cloverdale, nowadays. Not too many of the Greater Vancouver area communities have a genuine "main street." In Cloverdale however, it is common to see pedestrians window shopping and locals gathering together for a cup of coffee.

Cloverdale provides the primary "Main Street" and "downtown" for the television show Smallville. There is a billboard on the outskirts of the community which says "Destination Cloverdale - Home of Smallville." Other filming has occurred within the community such as one of the Coca-Cola's Christmas commercials. The town was decked out with plenty of Christmas decorations and fake snow despite filming during the summer months.