Time Traveller: How Robert Dollar founded the North Van community of Dollarton in 1916

This photo shows the Canadian Robert Dollar Company mill in 1918.

In 1916, Scottish-born and San Francisco-based lumberman Robert Dollar bought 100 acres in North Vancouver and built a huge mill at the bottom of what’s now Dollar Road. Mill employees lived in an adjacent village site and thus began the community of Dollarton.  

Initially, there were no roads leading into Dollarton and no regular ferry service. The community was linked by road to central North Vancouver in 1918.

Dollar built a wharf for his ships and a town for his employees with a post office, gardens, community hall, church and school. Employees could rent a house in Dollarton for $15 a month. 

Dollar developed a significant trans-Pacific trade in lumber from the Dollarton mill. The Mill closed in 1942 but the name and the community live on.  

Visit the MONOVA website for more information about the history of the North Shore and to learn about MONOVA: Museum of North Vancouver opening in 2021.

Currently, the Archives of North Vancouver at 3203 Institute Rd. in Lynn Valley is open by appointment only. Contact: [email protected]

Navigate culture on the North Shore by using the North Shore Culture Compass.