In 1965, the Vancouver Historical Society commissioned sculptor Gerhard Class to create a three piece sculpture almost three meters high to mark the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Hastings Mill, around which grew the settlement that ultimately became the nucleus of Vancouver. The mill was built by Captain Edward Stamp and went through a variety of owners until it closed in the 1920s.

The mill, originally called the Stamps Mill after its builder, first cut lumber in June 1867. Its operation included a mill and a store and it became a hub of sorts of cultural activity in the future Vancouver when in 1869 it set aside a meeting room and library for mill employees. First called the New London Mechanics Institute it morphed into the Hastings Literary Institute and became the basis for the Vancouver Public Library.

The monument consists of three free standing forms, each a different height. An abstraction of growing trees, the reliefs facing in different directions commemorate various events associated with the history of the Hastings Mill and the beginnings of the city of Vancouver. It was unveiled on June 11, 1966 at the former National Harbours Board office at the foot of Dunlevy St., now part of the Port of Vancouver.