School Name History

Location

34830 Oak Hill Drive, Abbotsford, BC

Opened

1952 opened as McMillan Elementary; 1978 name changed to McMillan Annex; 1981 renamed McMillan Elementary

The School

In 1952, the Abbotsford School District purchased three acres on McMillan Road from M. Cohn. Onto this property, they moved a one room building originally from the Upper Sumas School site. It enrolled students from Grades 1-5. In 1967, a third classroom and a library were added. In 1976, when the school was renovated to include elven classrooms, a library, and a gym, it added Grades 6 and 7. In 1978, McMillan Elementary was renamed McMillan Annex because a new school named McMillan Elementary (now W. A. Fraser Middle School) was built on Blatchford Way. In 1981, it took back the name McMillan Elementary when the new school was renamed W. A. Fraser Elementary. At that time, it offered Grades 1 to 3. In 1985, it housed only Kindergarten to Grade 2. In 1987, the Kindergarten class from W. A. Fraser Elementary moved over to a portable on the McMillan Elementary grounds. In 2004, after major renovations, McMillan Elementary became a Kindergarten to Grade 5 school, transferring its Grades 6 and 7 classes to W. A. Fraser which became a middle school.

Origin of the Name

McMillan Elementary was named for its location on McMillan Road. McMillan Road was named for the pioneer family of Donald and Sarah McMillan. They came to Abbotsford by train in 1888, soon after the railway was completed. The school is built on farmland that the McMillans owned. The McMillans had been neighbours of fellow Abbotsford pioneer William A. Fraser back east and became his neighbours again in B.C.  W. A. Fraser Middle School is named after him.