Chemainus, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Chemainus is a community on the east coast of Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Founded as a logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
town in 1858, the town is now famous for its 39 outdoor mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s. This outdoor gallery has given birth to 300 businesses, including a theatre, antiques dealers, and eateries. The tourist industry stemming from the murals saved the town after its mill closed in the early 1980s. A resident of Chemainus is known as a Chemainiac.
Chemainus First Nation
The Stz'uminus First Nation is a First Nations government located in southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, near the town of Ladysmith, British Columbia. Stz'uminus First Nation is a member government of the Naut'sa mawt Tribal Council...
.
The railroad arrived in the 1880s and by the early 1920s the town's population had ballooned to 600 persons. Today, Chemainus has a population of approximately 5,000.
Chemainus Secondary School
Chemainus Secondary School
Chemainus Secondary is a public high school in Chemainus, British Columbia part of School District 79 Cowichan Valley. It was founded in 1953 and it serves students from the area around Chemainus, Crofton, Thetis Island and southern Saltair....
is located in the town, and serves as a secondary school for students living in Chemainus, Crofton
Crofton, British Columbia
Crofton, British Columbia, Canada, is a small coastal town that is part of the District of North Cowichan on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. The population is estimated at 2,500 people...
, and Saltair
Saltair, British Columbia
Saltair is an unincorporated community with a population of 1,800 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada located between Chemainus and Ladysmith. It is within the Cowichan Valley Regional District....
.
A BC Ferry
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
terminal is located in Chemainus, which provides service to Thetis Island
Thetis Island
Thetis Island is an island off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is one of the Gulf Islands. The island was named in 1851 after HMS Thetis, a 36-gun Royal Navy frigate commanded by Captain Augustus Leopold Kuper . The ship was named after the Nereid Thetis from Greek mythology...
and Penelakut Island (previously Kuper)
Kuper Island
Kuper Island belongs to the Penelakut First Nation and is located in the southern Gulf Islands between Vancouver Island and the mainland Pacific coast of British Columbia, Canada. Kuper has a population of about 300 members of the Penelakut Band. The island has an area of 8.66 km²...
.
On 13 January 2006, a Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft was sunk off the coast in order to build an artificial reef
Artificial reef
An artificial reef is a human-made underwater structure, typically built to promote marine life in areas with a generally featureless bottom, control erosion, block ship passage, or improve surfing....
. The sinking was documented in "Sinking Wings", an episode of the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
Series, Mega Builders.