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Cumberland, British Columbia
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Cumberland, British Columbia
Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.
Although First Nations had long known the existence of coal in the area, J.W. Mackay discovered coal near today's town site while exploring in 1852. Armed with such knowledge, Sam Cliffe formed a syndicate, which in 1869 staked claims on Perseverance (formerly Coal) Creek that flows northwest into Comox Lake. The group hacked a trail to today's Royston. Their Union Coal Mining Co., named to honour the 1871 union of British Columbia with Canada, graded sections for a rail bed along this route. A sawpit was established about halfway, with some wooden rails cut and laid for a horse-drawn tramway. Unable to raise further capital when funds were exhausted, development work ceased.
In 1887, Robert Dunsmuir bought the enterprise and incorporated the Union Colliery Co. He arranged for a sawmill to be brought to the mine area. After unloading at today's Royston, oxen hauled the machinery. Only 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) of the earlier rail bed remained passable. For the 5-kilometre (3 mi) gap, Grant and Mounce built a wagon road while advancing, taking two to three months to reach the mine.
Coal production was 31,204 tons in 1889, and 66,556 tons in 1892. By 1897, the mine was yielding 700 to 1,000 tons per day, and employed 600 men.
In 1910, Sir William Mackenzie purchased all the Dunsmuir mines through his Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir). In 1912, the colliery established a hydroelectric plant on the Puntledge River, which supplied the whole Comox Valley.
Total miners killed in a single coal dust explosion at Cumberland were 64 in 1901, 21 in 1903, 18 in 1922, and 33 in 1923.
In 1912, management locked out protesting Cumberland miners who took an idle day. Industrial action spread, and all unionized Vancouver Island miners were on strike by summer 1913. Strikebreakers were protected by special police, until riots broke out at Cumberland, which prompted the BC government to send in troops.
Tsable River mine, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Buckley Bay was the final Canadian Colleries mine operating on Vancouver Island. The miners were based at Cumberland. On closure in 1960, an employee-owned smaller operation ran until final closure in 1966.
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Cumberland, British Columbia
Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.
Although First Nations had long known the existence of coal in the area, J.W. Mackay discovered coal near today's town site while exploring in 1852. Armed with such knowledge, Sam Cliffe formed a syndicate, which in 1869 staked claims on Perseverance (formerly Coal) Creek that flows northwest into Comox Lake. The group hacked a trail to today's Royston. Their Union Coal Mining Co., named to honour the 1871 union of British Columbia with Canada, graded sections for a rail bed along this route. A sawpit was established about halfway, with some wooden rails cut and laid for a horse-drawn tramway. Unable to raise further capital when funds were exhausted, development work ceased.
In 1887, Robert Dunsmuir bought the enterprise and incorporated the Union Colliery Co. He arranged for a sawmill to be brought to the mine area. After unloading at today's Royston, oxen hauled the machinery. Only 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) of the earlier rail bed remained passable. For the 5-kilometre (3 mi) gap, Grant and Mounce built a wagon road while advancing, taking two to three months to reach the mine.
Coal production was 31,204 tons in 1889, and 66,556 tons in 1892. By 1897, the mine was yielding 700 to 1,000 tons per day, and employed 600 men.
In 1910, Sir William Mackenzie purchased all the Dunsmuir mines through his Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir). In 1912, the colliery established a hydroelectric plant on the Puntledge River, which supplied the whole Comox Valley.
Total miners killed in a single coal dust explosion at Cumberland were 64 in 1901, 21 in 1903, 18 in 1922, and 33 in 1923.
In 1912, management locked out protesting Cumberland miners who took an idle day. Industrial action spread, and all unionized Vancouver Island miners were on strike by summer 1913. Strikebreakers were protected by special police, until riots broke out at Cumberland, which prompted the BC government to send in troops.
Tsable River mine, about 8 kilometres (5 mi) west of Buckley Bay was the final Canadian Colleries mine operating on Vancouver Island. The miners were based at Cumberland. On closure in 1960, an employee-owned smaller operation ran until final closure in 1966.
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