A reconstructed façade depicting the once thriving Chinatown.

Cumberland is a community steeped in history. Once Canada’s smallest
westernmost city, Cumberland was a bustling coal mining community from
1889 to 1966 with miner’s entrepreneurs and their families streaming in
across Canada, the US, Europe, China and Japan.

Attracted by employment, many Chinese ventured across the Pacific Ocean
to work hard labour in the coal mines for $1.40 to $1.65 a day to support their
families back home.
In 1888, the Union Colliery Mining Co. set aside the swampy area to the
southwest of Cumberland for its Chinese labourers who soon drain the
swamp to construct homes and businesses. In the golden era of Chinatown,
1918-1923, over 50 businesses existed. With hardware stores, bakeries,
apothecaries, theatres, parlours and temples serving its residents and
neighbouring communities.
In 1935, a major fire resulted in 43 buildings being destroyed. Also with declining global coal markets,
residents chose to move away rather than rebuild, making the beginning of the end for Chinatown.

Part of the gallery: Vancouver Island

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