Originally called lake Lekw'ōquem (Le-kwa-kwem) by the indigenous Stò:lō Nation that lived off the land.

In 1903, brothers Joe, Richard Arthur, Sam and Bill Trethewey purchased the mill, and in 1912 opened the Abbotsford Timber and Trading Company.

This company swiftly became one of the highest employers in all of British Columbia, producing 20 million feet of timber boards per year.

The mill remained active until 1934, when the Great Depression and the depletion of local forests forced the brothers to close the site.

[2] Mill Lake is located in central Abbotsford, bordered to the south by Bevan Avenue, to the east by Ware Street, to the north by Mill Lake Road and Bourquin Crescent, and to the west by Emerson Street and Gladwin Road.