H'Kusam

Article originally published in the North Island Gazette in 2007.

H’Kusam or Xusam is believed to be a Kwak’wala word for “having fat or oil.”  H’Kusam referred to both the Salmon River and the large First Nations village on its Southern bank.

When the first Europeans explored the coast of Vancouver Island in 1792 they noted a large village site strategically located on the southern bank of what was to become known as the Salmon River.   The village was on the border between the Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish language groups, and is believed to have changed hands between these groups. 
The village was in the shadow of Mt. H’Kusam, which through a unique weather phenomenon often has clouds clinging to the upper mountainside.  The First Nations called this mountain “Hiyatsee Saklekum” or “where the breath of the sea lions gathers at the blow hole”. They believed that there was a tunnel through the mountain through which the sea lions’ breath traveled.  More recently local people have affectionately called the perpetual cloud at the peak of the mountain “Oscar.”

The old Kusam Store

In 1894, after complaints from the white community about a disturbance being caused by the First Nations at H’Kusam, Indian Agent R.H. Pidcock arrived on the scene to find a large potlatch going on.  Over 500 natives were estimated to have gathered for the event.  The Agent tried to arrest the host, Chief Johnny Moon, but the white settlers were vastly outnumbered and eventually the Agent was forced to agree to take one of Moon’s sons instead, averting a potentially violent situation.
Theodore Peterson, a cook on sailing ships, settled near the mouth of the Salmon River in 1895.  He married a local aboriginal woman and started a business partnership with Ed Wilson.  “Port H’Kusam” soon boasted a store with a large false front, the H’Kusam Hotel, and a saloon.  One of these buildings was also  known as “Ruby House.”  The community was a stop for coastal   steamships in the early 1900s.  An official post office opened at Port Kusam on March 1, 1899. 
Otto Sacht was a 29 year old living in Victoria when a colleague suggested that they load up a ship with trade goods and head up the coast, selling the goods to local Indians and hand loggers.  Sacht was interested, and the two set off in 1903/04.  At their first stop, in H’Kusam, a local chief  “Tyee Harry” was hosting a potlatch and purchased almost their entire load of goods for $4,500.00.  The partners took their money and stayed to explore the area.  Sacht fell in love with the area and stayed, becoming a founding father of Sayward.

Port Kusam (1905) Mr Mc[Keugin], Mr. Peterson, Mr. Phelps,
Mr. [Monteuil], Mr. Hyer, Miss Piddock, Miss Sharp
City of Vancouver Archives Item : CVA 312-57 

On December 1, 1911, the post office at H’Kusam was closed and it was moved to what was becoming a larger town at Sayward. 
A trail system now leads up the Mt. H’Kusam, behind the old village site.  Called the H’Kusam Mountain Trails (or Bill’s Trails), it allows climbers to walk from sea level to 5681 ft, and provides a beautiful view of Johnstone Strait. An annual endurance climb has been held on the trail.  A popular geocashing trail also leads through the old townsite.

Englewood at Beaver Cove

Published in the North Island Gazette June 26, 2014

Logging started in the Beaver Cove area, just South of Port McNeill in about 1908.  A couple of early homesteaders had taken preemptions in the area, but eventually gave them up as logging moved from the beach area inland.

The first logging railways were built in the Nimpkish Valley around 1917.  One railway ran through the upper Nimpkish watershed to the top of Nimpkish Lake, and another ran from the bottom of the lake to Beaver Cove. Historical articles seem to disagree whether the lower railway initially was routed to the mouth of the Nimpkish River or Beaver Cove. In any case, the logs had to be floated down Nimpkish Lake and then removed at the bottom of the lake. The Nimpkish Timber Company operated an early camp in the area.

A mill was operated for a few years (1917 to the early 1920s) at the mouth of the Kokish River in Beaver Cove by the Beaver Cove Lumber Company.  

Beaver Cove Lumber Co. Office, store and Rooming House - Nov 1918. BC Archives G-03149

In 1925 the Wood & English company opened a new sawmill in the northern part of Beaver Cove.  This location provided a sheltered bay, access to deep water, and a stream which provided a source of power for the mill.  The Nimpkish logging railway was redirected to the new mill, and a town sprang up in this new location.

The new community was named Englewood, a play on the Wood & English mill name. Log cars were originally pulled along the railroad by steam engines.  The rail line became known as the Englewood Railway.

Wood and English Mill 1926

Englewood became a steamer port and a post office.   A general store and community hall opened on the wharf.  Bunkhouses, mill offices, married quarters, a small Japanese village, and a school were all constructed or moved from other camps.

Wood and English Camp - 1926. BC Archives D-05029

In the early days the mill was busy and sometimes operated three shifts per day. Most of the workers were able to live for free in the company housing.

Naturalist and fisherman Roderick Haig-Brown visited and photographed the mill in 1927.

Englewood School in 1928 (BC Archives G-06385) 

The Wood & English operated until 1941.  After the mill was closed most of the company buildings were burned to the ground.

The nearby communities of Beaver Cove and Kokish grew after the closure of Englewood.

It wasn’t until 1957 that the upper and lower Nimpkish logging railroads were connected, eliminating the need for logs to be floated down Nimpkish Lake.  The offloading of logs from throughout the Nimpkish watershed and beyond was moved to the community of Beaver Cove, which existed at the mouth of the Kokish until the log sort was expanded in 1975.

In 1958 the Englewood post office closed and was moved to the community of Beaver Cove. In 1967 a report from the Forest Service said there was still a 10 person camp at Englewood. Its registration as a community was rescinded in 1985.  

In the late 1990s a state of the art fish processing facility was constructed on the site of the old mill, where the historic pilings were still visible.  

http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/pdfs/bchf/bchn_1995_summer.pdf