Tahsis is a village municipality on the west coast of

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

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, about (by air) northwest of the provincial capital

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

at . , the Canadian census listed 316 residents, a decline from the 2006 Census count of 366 residents. The Village of Tahsis economy used to be dependent on

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

, but after the closure of the local sawmill in 2001, the economy became heavily dependent on sport fishing for salmon and halibut, outdoor recreation and tourism. The village is situated at the head of the steep-sided Tahsis

Inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

(part of

Nootka Sound Nootka Sound () is a sound of the Pacific Ocean on the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, in the Pacific Northwest, historically known as King George's Sound. It separates Vancouver Island and Nootka Island, part of the Canadian province of ...

). The inlet is protected from

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

storms by its geography, making the docking facilities a valuable asset. In Tahsis' heyday the population was roughly 2,500. With the closure and dismantling of the mill the population declined to 892, according to the 2001 census.

History

While

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

peoples have inhabited the area for over 4,000 years, Europeans first visited Tahsis in 1774 (Spanish) and 1778 (English). John R. Jewitt, an English

armourer Historically, an armourer is a person who makes personal armour, especially plate armour. Historically armourers were often men, but women could also undertake the occupation: for example Alice la Haubergere worked as an armourer in Cheapside i ...

, spent several winters here at the beginning of the nineteenth century as the slave of

Maquinna Maquinna (also transliterated Muquinna, Macuina, Maquilla from m̓ukʷina in Nuu-chah-nulth) was the chief of the Nuu-chah-nulth people of Nootka Sound, during the heyday of the maritime fur trade in the 1780s and 1790s on the Pacific Northwest ...

. Jewitt's memoirs, ''A Narrative of the Adventures and Sufferings of John R. Jewitt, only survivor of the crew of the ship Boston, during a captivity of nearly three years among the first nations of Nootka Sound: with an account of the manners, mode of living, and religious opinions of the natives'' is a major source of information about the

indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are composed of many nations and tribal affiliations, each with distinctive cultural and political identities. They share certain beliefs, traditions and prac ...

in general, and life in Tahsis in particular. In the 1930s many companies tried unsuccessfully to open

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

operations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. There were several advantages to building at Tahsis: there was a level plateau at the head of the inlet with easy deep-sea access for ocean-going vessels. The site faced southeast, getting maximum sunlight to protect the freshly cut lumber from mould due to the rains. In 1937

Nootka Wood Products Limited Nootka may refer to: * Nuu-chah-nulth or Nootka, an indigenous people in Canada's Pacific Northwest * Nuu-chah-nulth language or Nootka, spoken by the above Places in British Columbia, Canada * Nootka Sound * Nootka Island * Nootka Fault Plant ...

started operations at what was initially called "Port Tasis", a name chosen by them in loose consultation with local First Nations. At the time, Nootka Wood Products was cutting approximately of lumber daily, all for export. Subsequently, a Tahsis mill was built by the Gibson Brothers in 1945. It burned down in 1948, but in January 1949, Gibson Mills and the

East Asiatic Company The EAC Invest A/S, formerly known as the Santa Fe Group and East Asiatic Company ( or ''ØK'') is a multinational holding and investment company, based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally founded by Hans Niels Andersen in 1887. It owned 5 subsid ...

formed a partnership (Tahsis Company) and by April a new mill was back in production. Before the mill was demolished, it was owned by

Canadian Pacific Forest Products Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), a transportation and mining giant in Canada. In October 2001, CPR completed the corporate spin-offs of each of the remaining business ...

. In 1962, it was reported that the Tahsis Lumber Company had "prohibited the import of all cars except one very small n-namedGerman make" but that motorists "have one advantage over most: since their cars run only on private property they don't need a license". Tahsis remained a

company town A company town is a place where all or most of the stores and housing in the town are owned by the same company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schoo ...

until it was incorporated as a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in 1970. Tahsis was connected to Gold River by the Head Bay Road in 1972. Until that time the village was accessible only by boat or aircraft.

Climate

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Tahsis had a population of 393 living in 231 of its 398 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 248. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

First Nations

The members of the Mowachaht/Muchalaht, Nuchatlaht and Ehattesaht

are the Nuu-chah-nulth-speaking tribes whose traditional territories included all of the area known today as

. The Nootka Sound First Nations' territories are bounded on the north by those of the Kyuquot/Cheklesahht, and on the south by those of the Hesquiaht. Archaeological evidence confirms the occupation of the region for over 4,200 years.

Events

* The Great Walk (June) The Great Walk
/ref> * Tahsis Days (July)

References

External links

* {{authority control Ports and harbours of British Columbia Villages in British Columbia Northern Vancouver Island Populated places in the Strathcona Regional District Nootka Sound region