Chemainus, BC is a small town on the east coast of Vancouver
Island that sits between Nanaimo and Victoria.
Its claim to fame has to be the 44 outdoor murals that are seen all over
town sharing the rich cultural history of the town.
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| Early logging town |
Chemainus was originally founded as a logging town in 1858
and still considers the forestry industry its main one but in the early 1980’s
the big mill shut down and the town was facing the recession than many others
at that time did.
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| Add caption |
The murals were a way to hopefully attract tourism and it
worked. The government grants helped and
the talented artists worked their way around town, covering sides of buildings
that would tell the story of some of the early days.
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| Chemainus First Nations |
Chemainus is the home of the Original First Nations and the
name comes from a shaman and prophet “Tsa-meean-is” meaning “broken
chest”. The legend says that he overcame
a large wound in his chest to become a chief.
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| Logging with steer and manpower |
The Chinese were
there and worked in “bull gangs” in the forestry taking large logs to the boats
then later also worked to build the railway. Perhaps the "bull gang" name derived from use of cattle but the dictionary definition is "a crew of unskilled laborers".
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| Memories of a Chinese Boy |
The Chinese, Japanese and East Indians blended their
cultures with the Scots and Germans working in the mines, forests and fishing. In the 1880’s the railway was built and by the 1920’s the population grew to 600.
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| Temporary housing for road builders 1912 |
This mural shows temporary housing for the work crews that
came to build the roads in 1912. The
reminds me of a summer cabin my dad built in a logging camp in Fountain Valley
one summer so we could spend our holidays with him.
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| First school house 1883 |
The school was built for grades 1-8 with one teacher in 1883 who taught all eight school age
children of the town. It was moved to be
a private home in 1928 but has been saved by the Historical Society before
demolition was to happen and moved back to its original location. The oldest building of the area still has the original floor and is open
for visits on weekends.
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| Chemainus Hospital |
The mural on the Chemainus Medical Clinic shows the hospital
in 1902 and depicts actual people who were staff or residents. Many of the murals do the same for those who
were part of the history.
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| Telephone Company circa 1915 |
This mural shows two ladies who worked for the telephone
company and one of them is the great grandmother of a friend.This makes things
quite personal for those whose ancestors were part of the history of this
interesting town and shown on the murals.
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| Waterfall Park |
The downtown area, which was not developed until after WW2 leads us to the Waterfall Park. The park
is part of the original mill’s manager’s house and also offered access to the
lumber yard which is shown in the entrance mural. The manager’s house was torn
down in 1952 and the area has since become a very inviting park for the young
and old.
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| HMS Reindeer 1869 |
I cannot possibly show all of them but a display of Chemainus
murals would not be complete without one of the early ships that passed through
the Stewart Channel or visited the shores of Chemainus.
Chemainus now has a population of 3900 people living within
4.02 km2 (1.55 sq. mi), a small town that offers plenty of sights, activities
and attractions here and in the area.
