Home Page Northwest Restaurants Lodging Cities Day Trips Highways	A Mini-history of Vancouver Island British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver Island Getting there History Map - enlarged Victoria Nanaimo	Our intent on this page is to give you a little portion of the History of Vancouver Island from a traveler’s point of view as knowing a little history about the area can change your travel plans. We are not historians and our data may be in error as we depended on several sources to present these facts. Late 1700’s – The native population is estimated to be near 300,000 people. The plentiful sea-life, wild-life, plants, and berries could support a large population. 1778 – Captain James Cook of England lands on Vancouver Island and visits a Mowachaht Village on the west coast. He trades for prized otter furs. 1793 – Scottish fur trader Alexander Mackenzie is the first European to cross the North American continent. He travels across the Peace and Fraser rivers. 1805 – Simon Fraser of Britain’s Northwest Company founds Fort McLeod, BC’s oldest European settlement. In 1808 he maps the river that now bears his name. 1843 – James Douglas of Hudson’s Bay Company establishes Fort Victoria 1846 – The 49^th parallel is established as the boundary between the US and Canada 1849 – Vancouver Island becomes a British colony with the Hudson’s Bay Company administering the territory. 1858 – The Fraser River Gold Rush begins. The mainland and Vancouver Island becomes a British colony and is named British Columbia. 1862 – The Cariboo gold rush begins. Mid-1800’s – About 90% of the native population dies of smallpox. 1849 – First settlers on Courtney River, Royal Navy uses harbor when Esquimalt is crowded 1863 – English immigrants build Port Augusta, on Comox River, with a store and post office 1866 – British Columbia’s first salmon cannery is constructed on the Fraser River 1869 – Samuel Harrison discovers coal near Comox Lake. Soon after Robert Dunsmuir bought the coal mine. The City of Cumberland develops at the mine site. By 1890 there were 350 men working 24 hours a day in three coal mines. During the early 1900’s the Chinese people arrived in droves to work in the mines. By 1914 there were 3,000 people living in Cumberland’s Chinatown. It was the largest Chinese settlement north of San Francisco. 1873 – Hudson’s Bay builds trading post at Port Augusta (Comox) 1874 – First wharf built at Comox 1881 – BC’s first census: 26,849 natives, 19,069 whites, 4195 Chinese, and 274 blacks are the count. 1883 – Canadian Government gives Robert Dunsmuir 2 million acres and $750,000 to build the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway to bring the coal to the ports. 1886 – BC’s first trans-continental train reaches Vancouver. 1893 – Port Augusta’s name changed to Comox 1898 – City of Cumberland incorporated with population of 1,000 people. 1901 – 64 miners die in mine explosion in No. 6 mine in Cumberland 1913 – Construction of the second trans-continental line, Canadian National Railway’ causes a landslide at Hell’s Gate in the Fraser River. The salmon runs never recover. 1915 – Courtney incorporated 1920’s – The peak of the salmon industry with some 70 busy canneries operating in BC. 1942 – CFB Comox (Canadian Air Force Base) was built. It was closed in 1945 and reopened in 1952. 1947 – The native population gets the vote in BC but must wait until 1960 to vote in Canadian Federal Elections. 1966 – Last coal mine closes in Cumberland
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