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Recycle Reduce Reuse
by Lori Treloar, Executive Director Long before the idea that “recycle, reduce, re-use” was an expectation, the community of Shawnigan...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Mar 28, 20243 min read
Shawnigan's First Dwelling on the Lake
The first dwelling built on the lake was constructed by Richard Halhed. The Halheds arrived in 1891, a year after the mill went into...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Mar 14, 20243 min read
Important Women in Shawnigan's Early History
by Lori Treloar Alice Ravenhill Born in Snaresbrook, England, in 1859, Alice Ravenhill had a quintessentially strict Victorian childhood....
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Mar 7, 20244 min read
Early Days at Shawnigan
By Brownie Gibson (from Green Branches & Fallen Leaves) What was no doubt the first excursion train to Shawnigan Lake was run on Good...
Brownie Gibson
Mar 6, 20242 min read
Twenty Four Colonels on the West Arm Road — Shawnigan Lake in the 1920s
by Joan Mason Hurely c. late 1980s My husband, Denis Mason Hurley who came as a boy to live at Shaw in 1920, always claimed that in...
Joan Mason Hurley
Mar 3, 20242 min read
Savira Lodge
Savina Lodge, as listed in the 1919 Victoria directory, was located on the south west side of Shawnigan Lake opposite Long Island. This...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Mar 1, 20242 min read
Chris Behnsen - Cougar Hunter/Naturalist
Shawnigan Lake Museum Christopher George Behnsen, famed sportsman and cougar hunter, lived most of his life at Shawnigan Lake, on...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Feb 25, 20242 min read
New Hotels in Shawnigan?
1886 - Victoria Daily Times As a pleasure resort Shawnigan Lake affords many charms, not only for its picturesque scenery, but for...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Feb 22, 20242 min read
Ray Dougan - Mr. Shawnigan
Ray Dougan was an energetic, industrious man, who like his grandparents before him, made a name for himself in his community. In 1929,...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Feb 22, 20241 min read
THE MYSTERIOUS ORIGIN OF THE NAME SHAWNIGAN
by Daniel Marshall Some years ago, an out-of-town friend was surprised to see that there existed a "Shawnigan Lake." “What a...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Feb 18, 20243 min read
Frances Kelsey's Early Education
from an article by Elizabeth Forbes – Times Colonist, October 16, 1962 Formal schooling for the young Frances started when Col. Oldham...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Feb 8, 20241 min read
Sir John A.'s Last Spike
Last night, full of the British Columbia centennial spirit and a certain melancholy, I pushed my way along an overgrown forest trail, up...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jan 26, 20244 min read
Early History of Churches in Shawnigan
(from Green Branches ad Fallen Leaves by Brownie Gibson) Records are somewhat hazy concerning early church services at Shawnigan Catholic...
Shawnigan Lake Museum
Jan 23, 20242 min read
282 Miles by Automobile in 3 Days
Victoria Daily Times (1907) Victoria, British Columbia On the long weekend of July 1907, 40 people in 14 cars left Victoria for Port...
Lori Treloar
Jan 21, 20242 min read
Tree Toppers Reduce Danger of Falling Timber for Residents
The Citizen – January 8, 1989 By Judith Belton If you’ve ever lain awake on a stormy winter night and wondered whether the next blow...
Judith Belton
Jan 12, 20242 min read
The Auld Kirk Gallery
By Emery Sanderson In 1913 “All Saint’s Anglican Church” was built overlooking the junction of Shawnigan Lake and Renfrew Roads. For 25...
Emery Sanderson
Jan 8, 20243 min read
The Shawnigan Cemetery
(from the Shawnigan Focus , October 2021) Excerpt from the Community Crier, September 1981 On January 12, 1948, representatives from the...
Shawnigan Focus
Jan 4, 20242 min read
The Summer Colony
(from Green Branches & Fallen Leaves) An integral and important part of the history of Shawnigan Lake, and one that is important to its...
Brownie Gibson
Jan 3, 20243 min read
The Shawnigan Beach Hotel
Around the turn of the 20th century, there was an influx of retired British Army Colonels at Shawnigan Lake. These twenty (or so) men had...
Lori Treloar
Jan 3, 20242 min read
Christmas at Shawnigan Lake
Christmas has always been a special occasion for the residents of Shawnigan Lake. In 1900, the Koenig Hotel on the village waterfront...
Lori Treloar
Dec 22, 20232 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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