One particularly outspoken conservationist was prominent community member Roderick Haig-Brown. It also brought with it a great deal of environmental activism as residents fought to protect the ecosystems of the lakes, and river, especially the salmon runs that made the Campbell River so famous. It included construction of three dams and took 13 years to complete, bringing prosperity and a building boom to the community. In the 1940s, a huge hydro-electric project began to develop the power potential of the Campbell River system. The Tyee Club is Campbell River’s oldest organization. In 1924, to regulate and protect the sport, the Tyee Club of British Columbia established a set of rules which are still adhered to by the Club to this day.

While Campbell River grew as a service centre surrounded by large logging camps, it also played host to increasing numbers of visitors bent on catching the impressive Tyee salmon, distinguished from other salmon by weighing over 30 pounds. Only after the road came through from Courtenay in 1920 did Campbell River come into its own as a regional centre. Quathiaski Cove, on Quadra Island, which had be settled much earlier than Campbell River, served as the economic and social hub of the region in the early 20 th century. Their expedition resulted in the establishment of BC’s first provincial park, Strathcona Park.Īll incoming and outgoing transportation to Campbell River was by water, and for a town without a natural harbour, this caused some difficulties. In 1910, a large party headed by BC’s Commissioner of Lands stayed here before setting out on an exploratory survey of central Vancouver Island. This area has long been famous for its fishing and people have come from far and wide to enjoy the fishing (and hunting) here, so it is not surprising to learn that the first business established in Campbell River was a hotel, in 1904, known as the Willows Hotel, built by Charles and Frederick Thulin. You will find many places in Campbell River named for Fred Nunns and the other early settlers. Europeans began to settle at Campbell River starting in the late 1880s with Fred Nunns being one of the first. This settlement was going to be called Duluth, but it was never built. Only once the easily accessible timber was logged did the camps start harvesting the timber that was further inland, using oxen and later steam technology to move the logs to the water for shipping to the mills.Ī settlement was planned and prospected to be located at Duncan Bay (a large natural harbour just north of the river) by Mike King in the 1880s. Many of the logging camps were built on floats to expedite this process. The first loggers did not intend to stay they were logging off the easily accessible timber along the shoreline, and then moving on. Prior to Captain Richards’ survey, Europeans did not have much of a presence in this area it was only after European interests shifted to logging in the 1860s that they came to this area in greater numbers. The river was named for the surgeon onboard, Dr.

The name “Campbell” was not applied to the river until that time. The next Europeans to survey this area came in the period 1859-1861 when Captain Richards of HMS Plumper was sent by the Royal Canadian Navy to chart the area. Certainly by the mid 1800s the Laichwiltach controlled the strategic trading position and rich salmon grounds of Discovery Passage from their villages at Tlamatook (Campbell River) and Tsa-kwa-luten (Cape Mudge). It is believed that this village was then populated by Salish speaking peoples, but it is possible that the Laichwiltach (a confederacy of Liq wala speaking nations) had already begun their southward expansion into this area. When Captain Vancouver reached Discovery Passage, he stopped to visit the First Nations village on the cliffs at what is now called Cape Mudge. Captains Vancouver and Galiano worked together to chart this island and rapid strewn section of the coast. Their village site at the mouth of the river was named Tlamatook, meaning “a place where there are houses.” Archaeological digs at this site have revealed extensive use as a permanent village and fishing site for millennia.Įuropeans first reached this region in 1792 with both the Spanish and English sending ships to chart and explore the area. The First Nations on the coast have known of the excellent salmon runs on the Campbell River for centuries.

Red frost line river first run