Lombardy Poplars — Metchosin, BC
Posted by: 
Dunbar Loop
N 48° 21.898 W 123° 32.635
10U E 459712 N 5357008
An avenue of Lombardy poplars in Metchosin, planted around 1903 by Henry C. Helgesen, marks the historic approach to his farm "Sherwood" and remains a cherished heritage landmark.
Waymark Code: WM1C6BM
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 06/14/2025
Views: 0
On a quiet stretch of rural road in Metchosin, an avenue of stately Lombardy poplars stands as a living monument to the region’s agricultural past. Planted around 1903 by Mr. Henry C. Helgesen, these towering trees once formed the formal approach to his farm, which he named “Sherwood.” More than a century later, the line of poplars remains rooted in the landscape, a visible link to an earlier time when Metchosin was a patchwork of family homesteads and cultivated fields.
The site has been marked with a heritage sign, a modest but meaningful gesture that ensures this piece of Metchosin’s rural legacy is not forgotten. While the farmhouse no longer stands, the avenue of trees continues to frame the view, offering passersby a glimpse into the ordered beauty of early farmsteads and the pride settlers took in shaping their land. The poplars, with their narrow upright form, were a popular ornamental choice at the turn of the 20th century, planted not just for their striking appearance but also to act as windbreaks and property markers.
Today, the heritage site is a quiet landmark—simple, natural, and enduring. It reminds us that history is often written not only in buildings or monuments, but in the landscape itself. These trees, planted with intention more than a hundred years ago, now serve as sentinels of memory, inviting us to pause and consider the lives once lived along this tree-lined path to Sherwood.