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SETTLERS CLEARING THE LAND
The first job of the settler was to clear the land so that a house could be built and crops planted. This was an arduous task in the...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jan 35 min read
Industry
1889 – The Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company was founded by William Lossee. He had worked as a master mechanic for the E & N railway. As he...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jan 33 min read
Making the Old Hall Hot
By Garth Harvey , longtime Shawnigan resident; Museum, Family Caregivers and community supporter and all around great guy. It was about...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Dec 13, 20244 min read
The Way to Make Angels
ON THE TIMES - By Art Stott Victoria Daily Times February 4, 1958 Ed note: Art Stott drove the Malahat many times from Victoria to his...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Nov 23, 20243 min read
ELECTRIC CO.'S PLANS
October 6, 1904 An Article in the Daily Colonist Read carefully - this one is a doozy! More About Scheme to Erect Big Power Works on...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Nov 17, 20242 min read
The S.S. Shawnigan
The steam tugboat “Shawnigan” was built at the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Co. sawmill to replace the old and leaky tugboat “Lady of the Lake”....
Lori Treloar
Oct 24, 20242 min read
Like a Footprint in the Dust - Cliffside Store
ON THE TIMES Victoria Daily Times TUESDAY, AUG. 2, 1960 Column by Art Stott The little green Cliffside store and post office is...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Oct 3, 20243 min read
George S. Gibson: Shawnigan Lake’s forgotten carver
By Emery Sanderson, Summer Student, Shawnigan Lake Museum One of Vancouver Island’s most prolific woodcarvers remains largely a mystery...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Oct 3, 20243 min read
Truth and Reconciliation Day
(from My Cowichan Valley Now, Sept 2023) Truth and Reconciliation Day is a time to remember the residential school survivors, and their...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Sep 23, 20242 min read
The Great Fire of 1930
(with files from “Green Branches and Fallen Leaves”, Vancouver Sun, Victoria Daily Times) As often happens in a small community,...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Sep 12, 20243 min read
It’s heaven for railway buffs, a nostalgic hike along the long-abandoned grade of the Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company.
Line on the Past Island Outing from the Islander September 13, 1998 By Ian Baird and Peter Smith As Victoria’s Galloping Goose has...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Sep 10, 20244 min read
Noisy, chaotic problems arise from Shawnigan’s popularity
Around Our Shores – Susan Down Times-Colonist Friday, March 19, 1993 On this midweek morning in early spring, the problem seems...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Sep 4, 20243 min read
Coleman Road
by Lori Treloar Brothers William and Jasper (Jessie) Coleman came to Shawnigan Lake in 1906. Soon after their arrival, they wrote to...
Lori Treloar
Sep 4, 20242 min read
A Library at Shawnigan Lake
by Lori Treloar Early records indicate that the Women’s Institute ran a library at Shawnigan Lake for a short time in 1919 but there...
Lori Treloar
Sep 3, 20242 min read
The Shawnigan Lake Community Centre
by Lori Treloar In the mid 1980s a report was commissioned by the CVRD to examine the Shawnigan Lake Community Hall. The report indicated...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Sep 1, 20242 min read
Connector: Kinsol Trestle, once rejected, now a resurrected sight to be seen
By Chadd Cawson Bridging the gap Without a doubt Shawnigan Lake's biggest piece of history is the Kinsol Trestle — literally — and...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Aug 28, 20249 min read
The Shawnigan Queen
The "Shawnigan Queen" was originally a patrol boat in Victoria during the "Rum Runner" years of the 1920s and early 1930s. It was...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Aug 20, 20242 min read
The Early Settlers and Their Houses
(from Green Branches & Fallen Leaves) Not all of the early settlers came to Shawnigan district either by railroad or because of the...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Aug 20, 20242 min read
The Last Spike
Times-Colonist - June 17, 1958. Loose Ends-by Bruce Hutchison Last night, full of the British Columbia centennial spirit and a certain...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jul 31, 20244 min read
The Koenigs (aka Kingsley)
Around 1891, George Koenig and his bride, Mary, acquired the former Morton House after owner, Charlie Morton’s death. Sadly, Mary died...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jul 31, 20242 min read
Help us preserve and share the history of Shawnigan Lake
To stay in operation our non-profit relies on government grants and donations from people like you. Consider donating to the Shawnigan Lake Museum to help us preserve the history of our community.
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