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Editor's note: This map is interactive. Simply click on any yeloow dot to see more information about buildings previously located at that site.
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Cumberland Chinatown was established in 1888 when the Dunsmuir family, owners of the Union Colliery Co. (UCC) sent Chinese workers to the (then) town of Union to open coal mines and lay railway track for the Wellington Colliery Railway (WCR).
Chinatown's population increased immediately after WWI. By 1919, the mines employed 620 Chinese workers. By the 1960's, just a few elderly men were left in the town.
The townsite never recovered from the June 1935 fire that destroyed 43 buildings. During the summer of 1968 the town was declared a fire hazard and the remaining buildings were destroyed, saving only the log cabin of Hor Sue Mah (Jumbo) now sited next to Comox Lake Road.
The Chinatown site was leased by the Rod and Gun Club until December 2001, then eco-gifted to the Village of Cumberland as part of the 40 acres Perseverance Creek Park. The park was renamed Coal Creek Historic Park in 2008 at the request of former residents.
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*Note: the captions were collated from information on file at the Cumberland and District Museum, and discussions with former residents Marie Lowe and Ken Lowe, and descendants, John Leung, May Gee and Joyce Lowe. The Coal Creek Historic Park Advisory Committee welcomes new information as well as corrections to the information gathered to date. The committee will revise the captions as new information comes to light.
Editor's note: This map is interactive. Simply click on any yeloow dot to see more information about buildings previously located at that site.
____________________
Cumberland Chinatown was established in 1888 when the Dunsmuir family, owners of the Union Colliery Co. (UCC) sent Chinese workers to the (then) town of Union to open coal mines and lay railway track for the Wellington Colliery Railway (WCR).
Chinatown's population increased immediately after WWI. By 1919, the mines employed 620 Chinese workers. By the 1960's, just a few elderly men were left in the town.
The townsite never recovered from the June 1935 fire that destroyed 43 buildings. During the summer of 1968 the town was declared a fire hazard and the remaining buildings were destroyed, saving only the log cabin of Hor Sue Mah (Jumbo) now sited next to Comox Lake Road.
The Chinatown site was leased by the Rod and Gun Club until December 2001, then eco-gifted to the Village of Cumberland as part of the 40 acres Perseverance Creek Park. The park was renamed Coal Creek Historic Park in 2008 at the request of former residents.
_________________
*Note: the captions were collated from information on file at the Cumberland and District Museum, and discussions with former residents Marie Lowe and Ken Lowe, and descendants, John Leung, May Gee and Joyce Lowe. The Coal Creek Historic Park Advisory Committee welcomes new information as well as corrections to the information gathered to date. The committee will revise the captions as new information comes to light.
30th September 2009