20 BCA A .COM FALL 2017 iStock, Sara Kempner
TRAVEL fall road trips
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Around 80 km farther along is the Village of Cumberland,
which began as a company coal town in 1898. Take a tour of
Coal Creek Historic Park, the site of former Chinese and
Japanese settlements established to support the mine workers.
With a peak population of more than 1,200 in 1921, the
Chinatown had 24 groceries, five butchers and two 400-seat
theatres. No.1 Japan Town was one of several Japanese
settlements around Cumberland that thrived until 1942.
Near Port Hardy lies Tsaxis, a historic Kwakiutl village and
the former site of Fort Rupert, a boomtown built in 1849
when the Hudson Bay Company came looking for coal. The
fort's six-metre stockade is gone, but keep your eyes peeled
for the commanding stone-and-lime chimney.
Note for the road: Winter tires are required on BC's
designated mountain roads as of October 1.
Vancouver Island's Hwy. 19 makes
for a great fall drive.
Jumbo's Cabin is the only structure that
remains of Cumberland's historic Chinatown.
