Description of Historic Place

The Murrayville Community Hall consists of a large two storey rectangular wooden structure with rear one-storey addition set at right angles. It is surrounded by an asphalt parking surface and is located adjacent to the historic Five Corners intersection in the Murrayville area of Langley.

Heritage Value

The Murrayville Community Hall is important for its historic and cultural values. Built in 1928 by volunteers, it replaced the original community hall that burned down in 1924.

The building is valued for its architectural details, such as its unusual roof form (not quite a gabled hip), narrow lapped wooden siding, and scalloped shingles above the main entry. On the interior and hidden beneath alterations are such notable elements as a proscenium arch around the stage and a vaulted ceiling. The original wood flooring is visible and in good condition.

The cultural value of this building lies in its continuous use as a community hall, which remains the centre of community life in Murrayville, and for its association with early residents of the area.

Built by a community effort led by pioneer Ab Sherritt, it derives value from the number and variety of events it has hosted over time, as well as the shared memories associated with those events. Farmers Association meetings, Boy Scout and Curling Club meetings, weddings, graduations, funerals, church services and square dances have all taken place at the Murrayville Commmunity Hall. The longest and most continuous client of the hall is the Murrayville Cribbage Club, a group that started using the site in 1929 and has played there weekly ever since.

The hall is further valued for its association with the pioneer Porter Family, first through George Porter, who moved here with his family and opened a blacksmith shop in 1894, and through his son, Philip Young Porter (known as PY), who bought the neighbourhood store at Murray's Corners in 1917. It was PY Porter who sold the hall property to the Murrayville Community Hall Association for the sum of $1.00 in 1944. He and his son Eldie took a more practical interest in the hall by being in charge of its care and maintenance for many decades.

The building also represents the shift of the economic, political and social centre of the region from Fort Langley to Murrayville following the Edwardian building boom of the 1910s. Murrayville continued to be the region's political centre until the Municipal Hall moved east to the City of Langley in 1955. This prominent neighbourhood landmark represents a way of life that has always been cherished by the people of Langley and of Murrayville in particular.

Source: Langley Centennial Museum, heritage files

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Murrayville Community Hall include:

Architectural elements, such as:
- Narrow lapped wooden siding,
- Scalloped shingles above main entry
- Hip on front gable with dual pitch roof
- Original wood flooring
- Proscenium arch and vaulted ceiling, now hidden by later alterations

Architectural qualities such as:
- Its large generic size that allows for a variety of uses

Siting:
- Its location close to the Five Corners intersection of Murrayville

Cultural:
- Its continued use as a community hall for the residents of Murrayville