Union Bay, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Union Bay in British Columbia
, Canada
is a small community approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Courtenay, British Columbia
, the largest city in the Comox Valley
. Union Bay is populated by about 1200 people and is an unincorporated site within the Comox Valley Regional District
. The main drag along Highway 19A features a boatlaunch, sports/coffee shop, bistro and market/cafe. Also along the highway are the heritage Gaolhouse museum, Post Office, church, and now closed school that is currently used as the District Improvement Offices. The community has a rich history that is intertwined with that of Cumberland, British Columbia
.
to the north of what is currently Union Bay, but Robert Dunsmuir
bought out the company.
Dunsmuir's sons decided that a port at Royston would be too shallow for their needs. The deep water near Hart Creek (in present-day Union Bay) was perfect for the deep sea vessels that would ship the superior quality coal across the globe. A large wharf nearly 600 ft (200 m) long was constructed, along with a rail network connecting the mines to the port in 1887-1888. Many of the masted freighters of the early days were so large that they had to be escorted by tug up Baynes Sound
between Denman Island and Vancouver Island
. The most famous of these ships was the Pamir
.
Several structures were built on the colliery's lands including a shipping wharf, a coal washer, machine shops, and coke ovens. The community of Union Bay developed to support all of this industry and even had a small Chinatown. Workers from India were brought in to build the wharf. They lived in the big boarding house at the head of the bay. Scottish bricklayers arrived with a boatload of bricks from their homeland and assembled the coke ovens which were worked by the Japanese. There were five Japanese families. They had homes on the north side of Washer Creek. Chinese labourers laid the railway between Union Bay and Cumberland and then became trimmers on the coal ships where they would work 12-hour shifts. About 100 Chinese men lived in jerry-built shacks where the community hall is today.
To service and repair the mines and port facilities there were shops to overhaul the locomotives, to fabricate coal cars, and others which housed the foundry, boilermakers and blacksmiths.
Two hotels were built to accommodate travelers, the Nelson and Wilson. They featured beer parlours for loggers and sailors. Fire destroyed both hotels.
Several stores served the town, including Fraser & Bishop's large general store with an extravagant facade. One night in March 1913 the general store was robbed by Henry Wagner, the "Flying Dutchman" as he was called. On this particular night two police officers, Constables Westaway and Ross, walked in on the pirate and his partner. A gunfight ensued during which Westaway was fatally wounded. Ross, however, managed to tackle Wagner and apprehend him after a long and bloody fight. Wagner was quickly hanged in Nanaimo.
Of the original buildings four are left: school (built 1915), church (1906), post office (1913), and gaolhouse (1901). Together they form "Heritage Row". The Union Bay Historical Society restored and now maintains the gaolhouse and the post office. The post office has the distinction of being the only wooden post office erected before WW1 still in service in Canada.
During the two world wars Union Bay was a very active port because ships often coaled up there before crossing the Pacific. The last sailing ship to carry coal was the Pamir, in 1946. Freighters and barges continued to call until the coal industry slowly faded around the 1950s. Many of the structures, including the coal wharf, were torn down by the early 1960s.
In 1946, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake
demolished chimneys of houses in Union Bay.
An abundance of shellfish farms on Baynes Sound now help to drive the economy of Union Bay. In 1923 Eikechi Kagetsu, a logging entrepreneur started work at Fanny Bay. Baynes Sound beaches reminded Kagetsu of areas in Japan which produced superior mollusks to our smaller native oysters. He brought in oyster seeds from Japan and started to cultivate Pacific oysters, an industry which has blossomed and now includes clams, mussels, scallops, and abalone.
As merchant seamen during the coal mining days were always made welcome here, Union Bay became known as the ‘The Friendly Port’, a name still appropriate today.
More about Union Bay History
The Provincial Gaolhouse was constructed in 1901 and served Union Bay until the 1950s. Today it is the Union Bay museum.
The old wooden Post Office was constructed in 1913 and was a twin of another Post Office built in Comox
(which was torn down). The Union Bay Post Office
is one of only two wooden post offices left in Canada. The Union Bay United Church was constructed in 1905 or 1906 and is still the site of Sunday services. The schoolhouse was built in 1915, but has seen many renovations to retrofit it for the seismically-active west coast.
Kensington Island Properties received rezoning approval in April 2010 for an envisioned sustainable development. The project is to include approximately 3,000 new homes, land for a fire hall and other community facilities, parks and trails, hotels, a marina, and a 27-hole golf course. The proposal includes capping and redevelopment of the coal hills.
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...
is a small community approximately 15 kilometres (9 mi) south of Courtenay, British Columbia
Courtenay, British Columbia
Courtenay is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is the largest city in the area commonly known as the Comox Valley, and it is the seat of the Comox Valley Regional District which replaced the Comox-Strathcona Regional District...
, the largest city in the Comox Valley
Comox Valley
The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fanny Bay, Black Creek and Merville. The communities of Denman...
. Union Bay is populated by about 1200 people and is an unincorporated site within the Comox Valley Regional District
Comox Valley Regional District, British Columbia
The Comox Valley Regional District is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. It was created on February 15, 2008, encompassing the southeastern portions of the former Regional District of Comox-Strathcona, and centered about the Comox Valley...
. The main drag along Highway 19A features a boatlaunch, sports/coffee shop, bistro and market/cafe. Also along the highway are the heritage Gaolhouse museum, Post Office, church, and now closed school that is currently used as the District Improvement Offices. The community has a rich history that is intertwined with that of Cumberland, British Columbia
Cumberland, British Columbia
Cumberland is a town in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.-History:The village was originally named Union, British Columbia after the Union Coal Company, which was in turn named in honour of the 1871 union of British Columbia with Canada. The town was renamed after...
.
History
Union Bay was first established as "Union Wharf" back in 1887. The community was developed as a port for the thriving coal mines at Union to the Northwest (later reincorporated as Cumberland). Originally the Union Coal Co. had intended to ship coal out from RoystonRoyston, British Columbia
Royston is a small hamlet which is part of the greater Comox Valley region, 100 km northwest of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is situated across the harbour from Comox and just southeast of the municipal boundary of Courtenay...
to the north of what is currently Union Bay, but Robert Dunsmuir
Robert Dunsmuir
Robert Dunsmuir was a Scottish-Canadian coal miner, railway developer, industrialist and politician. -Origins in Scotland:...
bought out the company.
Dunsmuir's sons decided that a port at Royston would be too shallow for their needs. The deep water near Hart Creek (in present-day Union Bay) was perfect for the deep sea vessels that would ship the superior quality coal across the globe. A large wharf nearly 600 ft (200 m) long was constructed, along with a rail network connecting the mines to the port in 1887-1888. Many of the masted freighters of the early days were so large that they had to be escorted by tug up Baynes Sound
Baynes Sound
Baynes Sound is the channel between Denman Island and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The sound is a narrow western off-shoot of the Strait of Georgia that separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia. The area is actively harvested by the local oyster industry, as...
between Denman Island and 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...
. The most famous of these ships was the Pamir
Pamir (ship)
Pamir was one of the famous Flying P-Liner sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. She was the last commercial sailing ship to round Cape Horn, in 1949...
.
Several structures were built on the colliery's lands including a shipping wharf, a coal washer, machine shops, and coke ovens. The community of Union Bay developed to support all of this industry and even had a small Chinatown. Workers from India were brought in to build the wharf. They lived in the big boarding house at the head of the bay. Scottish bricklayers arrived with a boatload of bricks from their homeland and assembled the coke ovens which were worked by the Japanese. There were five Japanese families. They had homes on the north side of Washer Creek. Chinese labourers laid the railway between Union Bay and Cumberland and then became trimmers on the coal ships where they would work 12-hour shifts. About 100 Chinese men lived in jerry-built shacks where the community hall is today.
To service and repair the mines and port facilities there were shops to overhaul the locomotives, to fabricate coal cars, and others which housed the foundry, boilermakers and blacksmiths.
Two hotels were built to accommodate travelers, the Nelson and Wilson. They featured beer parlours for loggers and sailors. Fire destroyed both hotels.
Several stores served the town, including Fraser & Bishop's large general store with an extravagant facade. One night in March 1913 the general store was robbed by Henry Wagner, the "Flying Dutchman" as he was called. On this particular night two police officers, Constables Westaway and Ross, walked in on the pirate and his partner. A gunfight ensued during which Westaway was fatally wounded. Ross, however, managed to tackle Wagner and apprehend him after a long and bloody fight. Wagner was quickly hanged in Nanaimo.
Of the original buildings four are left: school (built 1915), church (1906), post office (1913), and gaolhouse (1901). Together they form "Heritage Row". The Union Bay Historical Society restored and now maintains the gaolhouse and the post office. The post office has the distinction of being the only wooden post office erected before WW1 still in service in Canada.
During the two world wars Union Bay was a very active port because ships often coaled up there before crossing the Pacific. The last sailing ship to carry coal was the Pamir, in 1946. Freighters and barges continued to call until the coal industry slowly faded around the 1950s. Many of the structures, including the coal wharf, were torn down by the early 1960s.
In 1946, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake
1946 Vancouver Island earthquake
The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake was a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that struck Vancouver Island, on the Coast of British Columbia, Canada, at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, June 23, 1946. The main shock epicenter occurred in the Forbidden Plateau area northwest of Courtenay...
demolished chimneys of houses in Union Bay.
An abundance of shellfish farms on Baynes Sound now help to drive the economy of Union Bay. In 1923 Eikechi Kagetsu, a logging entrepreneur started work at Fanny Bay. Baynes Sound beaches reminded Kagetsu of areas in Japan which produced superior mollusks to our smaller native oysters. He brought in oyster seeds from Japan and started to cultivate Pacific oysters, an industry which has blossomed and now includes clams, mussels, scallops, and abalone.
As merchant seamen during the coal mining days were always made welcome here, Union Bay became known as the ‘The Friendly Port’, a name still appropriate today.
More about Union Bay History
Heritage Row
Some of Union Bay's history has been preserved in what is called "Heritage Row". This row along Highway 19A includes the Gaolhouse, Post Office, Church, and School. It is preserved and maintained by the Union Bay Historical Society.The Provincial Gaolhouse was constructed in 1901 and served Union Bay until the 1950s. Today it is the Union Bay museum.
The old wooden Post Office was constructed in 1913 and was a twin of another Post Office built in Comox
Comox, British Columbia
Comox is a town of 12,000 people located on a small peninsula in the Georgia Strait on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil and abundant sea life attracted First Nations thousands of years ago, who called the area kw’umuxws...
(which was torn down). The Union Bay Post Office
Union Bay Post Office
The Union Bay Post Office in the community of Union Bay, Comox Valley Regional District, British Columbia, Canada, was built in 1913 and is one of only two old wooden post offices left in Canada. The main floor of the building is still used by Canada Post to serve the Union Bay area...
is one of only two wooden post offices left in Canada. The Union Bay United Church was constructed in 1905 or 1906 and is still the site of Sunday services. The schoolhouse was built in 1915, but has seen many renovations to retrofit it for the seismically-active west coast.
Contemporary community issues
The community of Union Bay faces many issues because of its limited size and proximity to the larger city of Courtenay. Water and sewage treatment are on-going issues.Kensington Island Properties received rezoning approval in April 2010 for an envisioned sustainable development. The project is to include approximately 3,000 new homes, land for a fire hall and other community facilities, parks and trails, hotels, a marina, and a 27-hole golf course. The proposal includes capping and redevelopment of the coal hills.