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Chinese Community
Cumberland’s Chinatown developed early since Robert Dunsmuir employed both Asian and White labour from the beginning in 1888.
When Union Camp was constructed, an area in the swampy southwest edge was set aside for the Chinese. Buildings were built on the same level as the streets and on soil mounds to assure a sturdy foundation. Gutters also ran along the streets to allow for drainage and there were wooden boardwalks and foot bridges crossing the small drainage lines.
At first glance Chinatown may have looked like a collection of haphazardly constructed shacks linked by a maze of boardwalks and narrow streets. It was actually an organized and self-contained business centre which supplied the residents with all of their needs. Chinatown was home to several boarding houses, grocery stores, laundries, bakeries, butchers, tailor shops, druggists selling herbal medicines, theatres and clubs or halls which were the focal point for community activities.
Chinatown thrived in its less than desirable location for many decades to come. The steady decline in coal markets led to the decline and eventual demise of Cumberland’s Chinatown along several other factors. Most people left Chinatown to find better jobs and join larger Chinese communities in Nanaimo, Victoria and Vancouver. Chinatown eventually became a ghost town.
