Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
Subscription Form

Get notified of the best News

Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 0 Likes
Twitter 0 Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
22K Followers
0 Likes
0 Followers
1K Followers
Mountain Life
Mountain Life
  • Daily Content
    • Trips & Expeditions
    • Climbing
    • Mountain Biking
    • Mountain Lifer
    • Multiplicity
    • On The Trail
    • Paddling
    • Photography
    • Skiing
    • Snowboarding
    • Stay & Play
    • Surfing
    • The Great Outdoors
    • The ML Interview
    • Travel
  • GEAR
  • VIDEOS
  • STORE
  • Magazines
    • ML Coast Mountains
    • ML Rocky Mountains
    • Vie En Montagne
    • ML Blue Mountains
    • ML Annual
    • ML Subscriptions
  • ABOUT
    • What is ML?
    • Our Team
    • Newsletter
    • Adventure Grant
    • Distribution
  • Podcast
  • Contests
  • CONTACT
    • ML Agency
    • Advertising
    • Contribute
  • Stay & Play
  • The Great Outdoors

‘Mothers, Dogs, & Children’? Tapley’s Farm Then & Now

  • November 28, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0

Written by Nicole Wilson, Whistler Museum.

Tapley’s Farm is one of the oldest residential areas in Whistler. Tucked away next to Alta Lake the area was Whistler Valley’s first attempt at employee-designated housing. The company that developed it was called the Mountain Development Corporation (MDC). It was so ‘local’ that MDC was quickly given the nickname “Mothers, Dogs, and Children” – a playful comment on the development’s residents.

The area was named Tapley’s Farm, after its previous residents.

In 1925, Sewall Tapley (Myrtle Philip’s father) purchased a large parcel of land that ran along the north shore of Alta Lake, including the marshes surrounding the River of Golden Dreams, from a trapper named George Mitchell. He wanted to move onto that land in order to clear and farm it. However, Myrtle and her siblings did not want him to live and work the land alone because of his age. They convinced him to continue living with Myrtle and Alex and to let his son, Phil, and Phil’s wife Dorothy move onto the land. This land was known from then on as Tapley’s Farm.

Horse and wagon rigged for haying. Sewall Tapley is on top of hay in the wagon; Alex Philip and an unidentified helper are pitching hay. Courtesy Whistler Museum.
Horse and wagon rigged for haying. Sewall Tapley is on top of hay in the wagon; Alex Philip and an unidentified helper are pitching hay. Courtesy Whistler Museum.

In ensuing years Phil, Dorothy, and later on their daughter Doreen (born in 1926) managed a productive farm with various grain and vegetable crops, an orchard, cows, chickens, horses, and plenty of hay. In addition to producing the majority of their own family’s needs, they were able to provide plenty of milk, vegetables, and eggs for other settlers and lodge guests throughout the valley, as well as hay for their livestock.

Doreen Tapley as a baby, wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a hollow tree. Boughs were placed above and below her for a festive look. Courtesy Whistler Museum.
Doreen Tapley as a baby, wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a hollow tree. Boughs were placed above and below her for a festive look. Courtesy Whistler Museum.

In every sense the Tapley’s were a model, self-sufficient pioneer family. Not only did they have a profitable farm but Phil also operated traplines in the mountains surrounding Alta Lake. Phil and Dorothy Tapley continued to live by traditional means – pumping water from a well and deriving heat and light from fire well into the 1960s – while the rest of the people in the valley surrounding Whistler Mountain turned to modern conveniences, such as electricity and plumbing. Dorothy passed away in 1968 at the age of 81, and Phil stayed on the farm for 3 more years until his death in 1971 at the age of 83.

Phil and Dorothy Tapley and Myrtle Philip standing beside a birdhouse in a field of dandelions. The Farmhouse in the background. Courtesy Whistler Museum.
Phil and Dorothy Tapley and Myrtle Philip standing beside a birdhouse in a field of dandelions. The Farmhouse in the background. Courtesy Whistler Museum.
Total
0
Shares
Share 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Share 0
Share 0
Share 0
Related Topics
  • BC history
  • British Columbia history
  • Canadian history
  • history Canada
  • Whistler
  • Whistler history
  • Whistler Museum
Ned Morgan

Previous Article
  • On The Trail

Boards & Fjords: A Dicey Ski Mission to the Fabled Princess Louisa Inlet

  • November 27, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
Next Article
  • The Great Outdoors

The Best Things in Life Aren’t Things

  • December 2, 2014
  • Ned Morgan
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • CAMPING GEAR
  • THE GEAR SHED
  • The Great Outdoors

Gear Shed: MEC Volt 2-Person Tent

  • Editor
  • May 10, 2023
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

Beyond The Summit Lodge

  • Sarah Bulford
  • April 3, 2023
Bora-Boreal-Quebec-winter-cabin-stars
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • Stay & Play

Bora Boréal: Frozen in Time and Ice

  • Mountain Life Media
  • March 14, 2023
View Post
  • Mountain Lifer
  • On The Trail
  • Photography
  • Stay & Play

Let It Roar

  • Sarah Bulford
  • February 9, 2023
L'Hymne-des-Trembles-Laurentians-Quebec
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

L’Hymne des Trembles: Uncompromising Laurentian Skiing

  • Editor
  • January 27, 2023
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

RED: Big Mountain, Small Town

  • Sarah Bulford
  • December 20, 2022
Red-Resort-Rossland-BC
View Post
  • Skiing
  • Snowboarding
  • Stay & Play

RED Resort: Sweepstakes for The Good Life!

  • Mountain Life Media
  • November 1, 2022
Blue-Mountain-Agora-lights
View Post
  • On The Trail
  • Ontario
  • Stay & Play
  • Videos

AGORA: An Interactive Night-Walk through the Forest

  • Mountain Life Media
  • September 19, 2022

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Featured Posts
  • Kathryn-Corbiere-artist-Indigenous-Ontario-Blue-Mountains 1
    Artist Profile: Elevating Awareness 
    • May 29, 2023
  • Mike-Traslin-Andy-Traslin-ski-touring-KootenaysBC 2
    The Traslin Brothers: 200 Months of Earned Turns
    • May 30, 2023
  • Leslie-Timms-Devils-Glen-Nutcracker-Colin-Field 3
    Behind the Devil’s Glen Climbing Route Closures
    • May 25, 2023
  • Fisher-Monahan-illustration-illustrator 4
    Sweetgrass Chronicles: Walking from BC to San Francisco
    • May 26, 2023
  • Paul-Manning-Hunter-Kananaskis-River-surf 5
    Mountain Life Takes Home Multiple Awards
    • May 23, 2023
RECENT POSTS
  • John-Haines-Simcoe-Street-Collingwood2-at-CreativeSimcoe-Street
    Tribute: ML’s Map Artist John Haines
    • June 1, 2023
  • benno_bikes-46er-sea-otter-tour-web2
    Gear Shed: Picks for Spring & Summer
    • May 24, 2023
  • Baptism By Gravel: Rab Equipment Enters The Adventure Cycling Game
    • May 19, 2023
Social Links
Instagram 22K Followers
Facebook 0 Likes
Twitter 0 Followers
Pinterest 1K Followers
Vimeo 34 Followers
LinkedIn 0
INSTAGRAM

Warning: preg_match(): Unknown modifier '0' in /home/customer/www/mountainlifemedia.ca/public_html/wp-content/plugins/powerkit/modules/lazyload/helpers/helper-powerkit-lazyload.php on line 146
avatar
mountainlifemedia
Mountain Life
25K Followers
Just your average day on the trails…nothing to see here. #mountainlifer #onewheel 23 4
How many turns did you earn last winter? Most skiers and boarders would be proud to say they logged a week with no chairlifts and zero auxiliary help to the top—or toured exclusively for a month. 43 2
onekwe didn’t set out to become an artist. She first became a welder with the intention of establishing herself in the trade. But, as good welding jobs are few and far between where she lives on Manitoulin Island, she began doing commissions for architectural pieces and modern furniture. “From there, I found the opportunities and the abilities in myself to create art,” she says. 74 1
ML and partners offer a gear list curated for spring-summer stoke, including the latest sunnies, trail shoes, sun shirts, e-bikes, headlamps, racerback tanks, Rollerblades and sun hats. In alpha order. #linkinbio to check out all picks! 21 0
"Alright—where to begin? Between the months of July and November 2022, I walked about 2500 kilometres from British Columbia to San Francisco. Yes—I walked." 46 4
🚫The sweet sound of the wilderness at Devil’s Glen… 76 5
✨It's time for another giveaway! 66 124
☝️Ahem, so … we’re officially “award-winning” again. Yup: ML Rocky Mountains and ML Coast Mountains both received awards recently at the 2023 Alberta Magazine Publishers Association Conference. 80 9
We hope your long weekend was filled with adventure! Now sit back and relax while you enjoy episode 28 of Live It Up with Mountain Life featuring scottparentphoto! You’ve earned it 😉 #linkinbio 42 3
When you live in #Whistlerbc it’s that easy to change with the seasons 🌞 #mountainlifer 124 4
Follow

Subscribe

Subscribe now to our newsletter

Just your average day on the trails…nothing to see here. #mountainlifer #onewheel 23 4
How many turns did you earn last winter? Most skiers and boarders would be proud to say they logged a week with no chairlifts and zero auxiliary help to the top—or toured exclusively for a month. 43 2
onekwe didn’t set out to become an artist. She first became a welder with the intention of establishing herself in the trade. But, as good welding jobs are few and far between where she lives on Manitoulin Island, she began doing commissions for architectural pieces and modern furniture. “From there, I found the opportunities and the abilities in myself to create art,” she says. 74 1
ML and partners offer a gear list curated for spring-summer stoke, including the latest sunnies, trail shoes, sun shirts, e-bikes, headlamps, racerback tanks, Rollerblades and sun hats. In alpha order. #linkinbio to check out all picks! 21 0
"Alright—where to begin? Between the months of July and November 2022, I walked about 2500 kilometres from British Columbia to San Francisco. Yes—I walked." 46 4
🚫The sweet sound of the wilderness at Devil’s Glen… 76 5
Mountain Life
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising

Input your search keywords and press Enter.