Now known worldwide as “The Little Town That Did”, Chemainus has a proud history steeped in the endeavours of several generations of loggers, fishers, miners and farmers. But long before the Europeans – Hwunitum in the Hul’q’umi’num language – set foot in the region that the native people knew as Quw’utsun, Indigenous tribes had lived in the area. The current townsite of Chemainus was known as Stz’uminus and for countless generations Coast Salish people fished, hunted and travelled the coastal waters by canoe. At its peak, the population of the Hul’q’umi’num people living on the east coast of Vancouver Island numbered in the tens of thousands.
However, in the mid-1800s the region began an immense transformation; part of a colonization process that was underway throughout Western Canada.
The Cowichan Region that includes Chemainus was part of the evolution that saw the arrival of thousands of European settlers, drawn to Vancouver Island by the abundance of resources and the opportunities the new frontier presented.
Chemainus was founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858, and the first white baby, Julia Askew was born. The railway arrived in the 1880s and the population began a steady climb reaching the lofty number of 600 within the next 40 years. Most of the jobs were in the forestry and mining industries and the retail and service sectors also blossomed.
This period – from 1880 to the 1920s – saw the establishment of several lumber mills, accompanied by the building of the first churches, schools and hotels. A post office, Bank of Commerce and Masonic Hall would follow.
The community thrived and slow but steady growth continued throughout the twentieth century. That was about to change in the early 1980s with news that the town’s largest employer, the sawmill that employed 700 workers, was going to close. It could be a crushing blow for Chemainus, a prosperous community with a population that was then close to 4,000.
Fortunately, through the efforts of an energetic young mayor at the Municipality of North Cowichan, a group of local businessmen dubbed the Group of Seven and an industrious promoter named Karl Schutz, Chemainus re-invented itself as a tourist destination. Murals depicting the town’s colourful history were painted on the outside walls of downtown businesses and outdoor art featuring sculptures and carvings was commissioned. The downtown was revitalized, and a new spirit of optimism and success became contagious. A professional theatre was built and new housing developments followed.
Not only had Chemainus survived what would have been an economic disaster, the Little Town That Did was ready to take its place on the world stage, a position it continues to enjoy to this day.