Texada Island

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Texada Island is located about 8 km southwest from the city of Powell River in the Powell River Regional District on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast. A former mining and logging area, the island still has a few quarries and old logging roads. It is the largest Island in the Gulf of Georgia at some 50km in length and 10km in width.

1 History
2 Today
3 References
4 External links

[edit] History

Texada was named by the Spanish naval explorer Navarez in 1792 for a crewmember and a century later, being the largest Island in the Straight of Georgia it became a fishing outport. Iron mines were explored and floated in 1876, with Premier Amor de Cosmos being involved in a land and mine scandal. For a few years, whales were flensed on the beach, giving the place the eponymous epitaph of Blubber Bay.

Copper was discovered at Vananda about 1898, with the Copper Queen mine and the Cornell mine started. A smelter, tramway and town was constructed. Similarly, farms, orchards, logging and a sawmill were set up as well. Coastal ferries connected the lsland with the nearby city of Vancouver and Nanaimo. The Union Steamship Cheslakee capsized off Vanada with a loss of life in 1913.

By the turn of the century, the copper boom was in full swing but the mines only yielded for a few years. A fire demolished the Vananda townsite in 1917. However, by this time BC Cement had set up limestone quarrying operations at Blubber Bay, and Marble Bay. For the next near century, limestone quarrying continued. Much of the product was shipped ot Seattle, Oregon or California. During U.S. prohibition, the island was a supply point for illegal alcohol into the United States.

Railways, cableways and concentration plants were built for the mines, as was the arbutus shaded company town of Blubber Bay. Limestone pits were dug all around the north section of the island so that it more resembles a slice of Swiss Cheese than a land mass. Other mines included an iron ore mine near Gillies Bay. Logging and cement production continue to this day. BC Hydro slashed a powerline across the Island in 1982.

[edit] Today

A regular ferry service links Powell River and the main ferry terminal at Blubber Bay, the island also has two stores, a library, bank, gas station, hotel, bed and breakfasts, museum and post office. Located near Gillies Bay, Texada Island also has a 3000' paved runway CYGB for private aircraft and scheduled services. There are many parks, forests, lakes, beaches and mountains to explore. Today, the island caters mainly to tourists seeking an escape from the city. A Jazz festival and a sandcastle contest are held in the summer. The island is 300.45 km² (116 sq mi) in land area and had a population of 1,129 in the 2001 census.