Tahsis, British Columbia
Encyclopedia
Tahsis is a village on the west 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...
, about 300 km (by air) northwest of the provincial capital Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
at 49°55′33"N 126°37′16"W. It has 300 residents and used to be dependent on forestry
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
, although now the economy is moving towards outdoor recreation and tourism.
The village is situated at the head of the steep-sided Tahsis Inlet (part of Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
). The inlet is protected from Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
storms by its geography, making the docking facilities a valuable asset.
History
While First NationsFirst Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
peoples have inhabited the area for over 4,000 years, European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s first visited Tahsis in 1774 (Spanish) and 1778 (English). John R. Jewitt
John R. Jewitt
John Rodgers Jewitt was an armourer who entered the historical record with his memoirs about the 28 months he spent as a captive of Maquinna of the Nuu-chah-nulth people on the Pacific Northwest Coast of what is now Canada...
, an English armourer, spent several winters here at the beginning of the nineteenth century as the slave of Maquinna
Maquinna
Maquinna was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest Coast...
. Jewitt's memoirs, A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, only survivor of the crew of the ship Boston, during a captivity of nearly three years among the savages of Nootka Sound: with an account of the manners, mode of living, and religious opinions of the natives is a major source of information about the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...
in general, and life in Tahsis in particular.
In the 1930s many companies tried unsuccessfully to open sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....
operations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. There were several advantages to building at Tahsis: there was a level plateau at the head of the inlet with easy deep-sea access for ocean-going vessels. The site faced southeast, getting maximum sunlight to protect the freshly cut lumber from mould due to the rains.
In 1937 Nootka Wood Products Limited started operations at what was initially called "Port Tasis", a name chosen by them in loose consultation with local First Nations. At the time, Nootka Wood Products was cutting approximately 150000 board feet (354 m³) of lumber daily, all for export.
Subsequently, a Tahsis mill was built by the Gibson Brothers in 1945. It burned down in 1948, but in January 1949, Gibson Mills and East Asiatic Company formed a partnership (Tahsis Company) and by April a new mill was back in production. Before the mill was demolished, it was owned by Canadian Pacific Forest Products.
In 1962, it was reported that the Tahsis Lumber Company had "prohibited the import of all cars except one very small [un-named] German make" but that motorists "have one advantage over most: since their cars run only on private property they don't need a license".
Tahsis remained a company community
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
until it was incorporated as a municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in 1970. Tahsis was connected to Gold River
Gold River, British Columbia
Gold River is a village located close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. In terms of the Island's human geography it is considered to be part of the "North Island", even though it technically is on the Island's west coast....
by the Head Bay Road in 1972. Until that time the village was accessible only by boat
Outport
Outport is the name given in the United Kingdom for a subsidiary port built in deeper water than the original port. The Port of Tilbury from the Port of London is a good example. Avonmouth and Bristol and, on a smaller and now historical scale, Fordwich and Canterbury are others....
or aircraft.
In Tahsis's heyday the population was roughly 2,500. With the closure and dismantling of the mill the population declined to 892, according to the 2001 census. , the population is approximately 300, with fewer than 50 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
First Nations
The members of the Mowachaht/MuchalahtMowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nations are a First Nations government on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia...
, Nuchatlaht
Nuchatlaht First Nation
The Nuchatlaht First Nation is a First Nations government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council....
and Ehattesaht
Ehattesaht First Nation
The Ehattesaht First Nation is a First Nations government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council....
First Nations
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
are the Nuu-chah-nulth-speaking
Nuu-chah-nulth language
Nuu-chah-nulth is a Wakashan language spoken in the Pacific Northwest of North America, on the west coast of Vancouver Island from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound in British Columbia, by the Nuu-chah-nulth people...
tribes whose traditional territories included all of the area known today as Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound is a complex inlet or sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Historically also known as King George's Sound, as a strait it separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island.-History:The inlet is part of the...
. The Nootka Sound First Nations' territories are bounded on the north by those of the Kyuquot/Cheklesahht
Kyuquot/Cheklesahht First Nation
The Kyuquot/Cheklesath First Nation is a First Nations government based at Kyuquot, located on the outer coast of Kyuquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada...
, and on the south by those of the Hesquiaht
Hesquiaht First Nation
The Hesquiaht First Nation is a Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations government based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council.- Introduction :...
. Archaeological evidence confirms the occupation of the region for over 4,200 years.
See also
- Gold RiverGold River, British ColumbiaGold River is a village located close to the geographic centre of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. In terms of the Island's human geography it is considered to be part of the "North Island", even though it technically is on the Island's west coast....
- Strathcona Provincial Park