Vancouver — Gastown & Chinatown
Maple Tree Square and 'Gassy Jack'
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
Listen
Transcript
Gastown is named after John Deighton, an English-born saloon keeper nicknamed “Gassy Jack” because of his talkative reputation. Popular local tradition credits his tavern with helping create the settlement.
That story is true in outline but too founder-focused if taken literally. The area grew because of sawmills, Indigenous displacement, workers, the harbour and later the railway. One publican did not create Vancouver.
Legend note: tourist versions sometimes make Gastown sound as if a man arrived with a barrel of whisky and a city sprang up around him in a day. Treat that as folklore, not urban history.
Cities love eccentric founders because they are easier to remember than systems. Gastown was a system.