The Bedwell River is in the

Clayoquot Sound , image = Clayoquot Sound - Near Tofino - Vancouver Island BC - Canada - 08.jpg , image_size = 260px , alt = , caption = , image_bathymetry = Vancouver clayoquot sound de.png , alt_bathyme ...

region on the west coast of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

flows into

Bedwell Sound Bedwell Sound is a sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the Clayoquot Sound region to the north of Meares Island and the resort community of Tofino. The Bedwell River, originally the Bear River ...

, which lies northeast of

Meares Island Meares Island is one of the many islands surrounding the Village of Tofino, British Columbia, Canada. Its name was given in 1862 by George Henry Richards, captain of , in honor of John Meares. The island is located in the Clayoquot Sound region and ...

and

Tofino Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Penins ...

Name origin

Formerly named the Bear River by

Captain Richards Sir George Henry Richards (13 January 1820 –14 November 1896) was Hydrographer of the Royal Navy from 1863 to 1874. Biography Richards was born in Antony, Cornwall, the son of Captain G. S. Richards, and joined the Royal Navy in 1832. ...

, the official rename evidenced the Bedwell Sound connection. However, the previous name remains in use locally. The 1913 announcement that the name would change to Denbigh River, in honour of

Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh Rudolph (Rollo) Robert Basil Aloysius Augustine Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh, 8th Earl of Desmond, (26 May 1859 – 25 November 1939), styled Viscount Feilding from 1865 to 1892, was a British peer and officer. Biography Lord Feilding was ...

, chair of the Ptarmigan Mine on

Big Interior Mountain Big Interior Mountain is in central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This snow-covered mountain in Strathcona Provincial Park is about northeast of Tofino and southwest of Mount Rosseau. Name origin On his 1896 map, explorer Rev. William Wa ...

, proved premature. Instead, Bedwell River was officially adopted federally months later, but a decade later provincially.

First Nations

The indigenous name in the

Nuu-chah-nulth language Nuu-chah-nulth (), Nootka (), is a Wakashan language in the Pacific Northwest of North America on the west coast of Vancouver Island, from Barkley Sound to Quatsino Sound in British Columbia by the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples. Nuu-chah-nulth is a ...

is Oinimitis, which is the namesake of the Oinimitis Trail. Oinimitis Indian Reserve No. 4 is near the mouth of the river.

Mining

When

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

s discovered gold in 1865,

placer mining Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (Alluvium, alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining, open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment. Placer minin ...

quickly swamped the valley. However, the numerous large boulders made most workings unprofitable. Indignant at being duped, the hordes departed within weeks, leaving mainly Chinese miners, who maintained the constructed trail until the mid-1880s. Apparently, the sudden death of one of their number at that time created superstitious fears causing the final 15 to collectively leave. In 1899, the townsite of Port Hughes was laid out at the river mouth, being the headquarters for 60 mines in the region. That year, a 14-room hotel was erected. Moses McGregor was the inaugural and final postmaster 1900–1901. The settlement was named after Capt. Hughes, who was master of a coastal

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

. The residents soon left and the hotel closed. The location was uninhabited when the Ptarmigan Mine established a camp at the river mouth in 1913. Where the valley forks in the upper reaches of the river, You Creek forms the right branch.

Prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * '' Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

Joe Drinkwater Della Falls is a waterfall located within Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. With a total height of , it ranks as the 16th tallest confirmed waterfall in Canada and the second tallest on Vancouver Island a ...

was the first to explore the creek, a later access route to several mining claims.

References

Rivers of Vancouver Island Clayoquot Sound region {{BritishColumbiaCoast-river-stub

Name origin

First Nations

Mining

See also

References