Caspar Phair

Who was Caspar Phair?

Caspar Phair was one of Lillooet, British Columbia's early settlers, arriving about 1877 to take up the role of the village's school teacher.. He emigrated from Ireland. Caspar Phair became Lillooet's Government Agent, a position which at one time encompassed a wide ranging assemlage of duties. In time he assumed the roles of magistrate, chief constable, coroner, fire chief, and game warden. His lasting mark was made in business as a merchant-launching the family's general store on a 'run' that would extend over 50 years.

In 1879 he married Cerise Eyre, daughter of Maria Josephine Martley by a previous marriage. Cerise seems to have accompanied her mother and step-father to the Colony of British Columbia in 1861.The wedding took place on The Grange,the Martley ranching property near Pavilion.

In 1890 the Phairs had a residence,that they named Longford House, built in Lillooet. This elegant building is said to be partially modeled on and named after Mrs. Phair's home in Eyrecourt, of County Galway in Ireland. Longford survives to this day as the village's only significant example of heritage-quality domestic architecture.

Caspar Phair's son, A.W.A. Phair, was a coroner as well as a noted chronicler and photographer of Lillooet's history.