The Clayburn Village Museum represents the brick industry that started in 1905 along with the people behind it and the community that arose from it. The Museum is open on Saturdays from 1-4 pm during the summer months of June, July and August or by appointment.
There is a self guided walking tour brochure available of the village. It highlights the church and school and both are heritage designated buildings owned by the Clayburn Village Community Society. The housing built for the workers are all now privately owned. The original 7 brick houses built by the company for the management of the Vancouver Fireclay Company still stand along with other brick and wooden houses built for the workers. in 1909, the company restructured and became Clayburn Company Ltd.
Clayburn Village sits at the base of Sumas Mtn which was the source of different types of clay including Fireclay needed for refractory bricks. Up until this discovery, refractory bricks were being imported from Great Britain. A rail infrastructure was built to bring the clay from the mines to the brickworks and then the finished product went by rail to connect with with nearby CPR track.
The brick industry continued in Abbotsford for 106 years at 3 different locations when Clayburn Industries shut down in 2011. The Clayburn site operated for only 25 years but the town built around the industry still thrives.
