‘Dirty Old Town’. A Look at Canada’s Industrial History

As the above image conveys, a country’s industries are often dirty, ugly, and not very romantic. Yet, for a society’s economy and well-being, they are of the utmost importance. The question becomes: once they run their course, do we recognize or erase them? It’s never an easy choice.

Canada’s Rich Industrial History

Every Canadian province and territory had/has its industrial or economic strength and history. From the shores of Newfoundland to the West Coast of British Columbia, north to the Arctic Ocean, major industries have powered our economies: Fisheries and whaling, mining, lumber, steel and fabric factories, distilleries, the fur trade, oil and gas, potteries, and so many more. Many of those early industries have vanished. Recognizing and preserving Canada’s industrial past is important for tourism but also for our identity as Canadians. It confirms our long ties to our land and its resources. Undoubtedly, some of those industries led to human hardships and severely impacted our environment.

The Powell River Paper Mill (c.1912-2015), in British Columbia, Canada, the topic of interest in this story, falls into this category. It was once the world’s largest paper mill, setting production records and developing groundbreaking technology. It has left behind an undeniable historic legacy but not always a positive one.

Dirty-Ugly-Health Hazard: Economic Engine-Job Creator-Self-Reliance!

We are often conflicted about how to deal with these historical industrial complexes once they are no longer operating. Yes, they were important economically. But they also come with considerable social, political, and environmental baggage.

You only have to read the local papers and chat boards to realize that the citizens of today’s Powell River, British Columbia, Canada, are also conflicted about how to deal with the aftermath of this industrial behemoth.

PRESERVE AND RECOGNIZE IT OR WIPE IT OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH? THE VERDICT IS STILL OUT!

Let’s journey back to the early 20th century to see why the Powell River Paper Mill and adjoining mill townsite are an integral part of municipal, provincial, and national history. ²

A Historic Overview of the Powell River Paper Mill and Townsite

The terms ‘Powell River’, ‘Townsite’, and ‘Westview’ refer to locations on British Columbia’s upper Sunshine Coast. Powell River in the gathet Regional District refers to the overarching name of the greater municipality, while Townsite and Westview are two distinct neighbourhoods within it. This area was the traditional lands of the Tla’amin Nation of British Columbia. The paper mill sits on the northwest corner of Townsite, labelled as the Powell River Historic District on the map below.

Powell River Townsite

My story starts in Townsite, British Columbia, Canada, which, during certain times of the year, is my home. I live in one of the one-hundred-year-old houses in the historic Townsite area, built by the then Powell River Company (which eventually became MacMillan Bloedel Limited in 1959) for its workers.

In 1995 the Federal Government of Canada designated the entire Townsite area as a National Historic District. It is an exceptionally well-preserved, mostly intact example of an early 20th-century planned single-industry company town. Developed by the Powell River Company starting in 1910, the community showcases early modern town planning and corporate paternalism tied to a massive pulp and paper operation. Over 97 percent of the buildings predate 1940. Approximately 400 original employee homes are still standing today, many in nearly their original condition.

In 1955, the new mill owner, McMillan Bloedel, sold the homes and buildings to mill workers. Fortunately, some of the homes’ owners saw the value in historic preservation. I always feel I’ve stepped back in time when walking down the streets of Townsite today.

The Powell River Paper Mill Site Complex

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, pulp replaced recycled rags as the dominant raw material for manufacturing paper products. The Powell River region was an ideal spot to build a paper mill. It contained vast timber resources. It had access to direct ocean transportation. The Powell and nearby Lois rivers, if dammed, would provide the necessary electrical power. And there was an increasing demand for newsprint in the world.

In 1909, construction of the mill was underway, and by 1912, Paper Machine Number 1 produced the first saleable newsprint at the new plant. In its first year, the plant produced 17,000 tons of newsprint. Production required hundreds of people to operate it with a budget of between 1.5 – 2.5 million dollars per year. In these early days, the average mill labourer made 22.5 cents per hour.

There isn’t enough space to go into great detail about the paper production process, which has been documented in numerous other publications, including Bill Thompson’s detailed book, entitled: The Powell River Mill Story, about the mill’s history, construction, and operation. ⁶

The mill’s technology and production, however, warrant some comments because, by world standards, it was often at the forefront. For this reason, and because of the still-standing infrastructure, some residents feel it should receive more provincial, national, and even international recognition.

The technology and paper production statistics of this paper mill are truly staggering, and at such a scale that for many of us, they are hard to even fathom. Here are some highlights about the paper mill over its lifetime, found in Bill Thompson’s (2001) book: ⁷

• The largest single-unit newsprint facility in the world: At its peak, one in every 25 newspapers worldwide was printed on its paper. The iconic mill housed the world’s most advanced paper machines, setting both speed and volume records.
• Commissioned in 1912: It was the first newsprint mill in Western Canada.
• Paper Machine Number One (1912): It produced a 150-inch sheet of paper at 604 feet per minute, faster than any other paper machine in the world at that time.
• Pre-planned Company Town: To support the mill’s massive output of paper and workers necessary to operate it, the Powell River Company built an entire town complete with all the conveniences necessary for comfortable living.
• Deep Sea Port: The Company dredged the sea bottom 32 feet below low tide and constructed two 450-foot wharves capable of bringing in large ships to load their paper for international markets.
• Two Dams to Generate Power for the Mill: The mill’s power came from damming up the Powell River in 1924 (creating Powell Lake) and the Lois River in 1941 (creating Lois Lake). By 1985, the Powell River dams plus two steam turbines in the mill made Powell River the fourth largest electrical power utility in British Columbia.
• Highest Wages in the Industry (1951): Workers received $1.40 an hour and also a cost-of-living bonus adjusted every four months.
• A Leader in Research and Innovation: The mill constantly tried to reduce its emissions. In 1954, the company introduced a gas scrubber to eliminate 95%  of its sulphur dioxide emissions. It then turn it into sodium sulphate used to process pulp. By 1971, the company had a pollution control department of nine people spending millions of dollars per year reducing its emissions, noise pollution, and constantly monitoring the water.
• Number Nine Paper Machine (1957), the World’s Fastest: This paper machine spat out 2,000 feet of newsprint per minute.
• The Largest Single-Unit Plant: By 1960, the mill operated nine paper machines with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons, cementing its status as the largest single-unit newsprint facility on earth.
• ‘The Monster’, Number Ten Paper Machine (1967): Number ten paper machine produced 3,000 feet of newsprint per minute continuously for 48 hours, setting a Canadian record. The newsprint was 324 inches wide.
• World’s Fastest Machine (No. 11): Commissioned in 1981 as a digital, computer-operated prototype, Paper Machine No. 11 was an industry titan. By the end of 1981, it was running at 3,510 feet per minute (roughly 56 km/h).
• Global Production Record (1983): In August 1983, Paper Machine No. 11 set a world record for the highest one-month production volume of newsprint.
• Global Benchmark: By 1985, the No. 11 machine was officially rated as the best in the world, with No. 10 also recognized as a “top 10” global producer.
• A Floating Breakwater (the largest in the world): In 1965, the Company built a floating breakwater consisting of ten concrete-hulled ships anchored and cabled together. The ships were constantly inspected, and nine are still anchored in place today.
• The Company Sawmills: The Company also operated several sawmills to feed their paper mill. In their Barkermill sawmill complex, a crew of experts changed the sixty-foot-long headsaws every two hours and sharpened five in an eight-hour shift. The smaller 37-inch band edgers were replaced every four hours, and 24-inch slasher saws were filed every four days.

These are just a few of the mind-boggling statistics about the paper mill.

The Powell River Paper Mill drove the region’s economy. But, like all industry, the good times wouldn’t last. As the graph below shows, one of the main reasons for the mill’s demise was the sharp decline in the demand for newsprint. The mill was slow to adjust and either didn’t have enough capital to refit its machinery for other paper products or was unwilling to do so.

The Powell River Mill as a Major Polluter and Environmental Hazard

With the ‘good’ there is often the ‘bad’ surrounding an industrial complex as large as the Powell River Mill.  These facts should be viewed within the context of the times, when there was little knowledge of industrial health effects. Below is a summary of the negative impacts this industrial monster produced:

• Airborne and Waterborne Dioxins: During the chlorine bleaching process of the pulp, the mill generated highly toxic airborne and waterborne dioxins. These pollutants are very persistent and strongly linked to human endocrine disruption, immune system damage and elevated risks of soft-tissue cancers.
• Occupational Higher Rates of Cancers: A study by the Scandinavian Journal of Work and Environmental Health (2001) found statistically higher rates of cancer (prostate and stomach cancers and leukemia) in mill workers than the general population. ¹⁰
• High Rates of Asbestos Exposure: Also responsible for Pleural Cancers.
• Volatile Gaseous Compound Emissions: The mill generated over 43 million kilograms of greenhouse gases annually and discharged substantial particulate matter into the regional air basin every day.
• Contamination of Seafood and Shellfish: By 1988-1990, the Government of Canada closed both commercial and recreational fisheries and shellfish in the Strait of Malaspina due to the polluting Powell River Mill Site.
• Liquid Chlorine Incident: On February 18, 1975, a towboat named Chieftain III lost four pressurized railway tank cars containing 374 tonnes of liquid chlorine during a fierce storm while en route to the Powell River pulp mill. Rather than sitting in the shallow waters right at the mill site or harbour, historical sonar sweeps showed they sank into deep coastal waters and thick mud. According to marine and fisheries scientists, after decades underwater, the heavy steel tanks have likely rusted through, and their contents safely reacted with seawater. The chlorine neutralized long ago without creating surface hazards. At least that is the theory. No one really knows for certain.
• Landfill Leaching: Government monitoring has flagged multiple permit violations regarding the mill’s Wildwood landfill, where contaminants have routinely leaked into local groundwater. ¹¹
• Industrial Toxins: The mill infrastructure contains industrial toxins, including widespread asbestos and fly ash, which pose significant hazards to long-term community health if left untreated. ¹¹

The pollution issues undoubtedly affected the surrounding population, but experts say such effects are notoriously difficult to isolate from other contributing contaminants. However, throughout its long history, there were never staged demonstrations or lawsuits registered against the company about its role as a polluter potentially endangering the local population.

But that doesn’t mean things always ran smoothly between mill management and mill workers either: ¹²

• 1910s–1920: Early workers pushed for an 8-hour workday, resulting in the company locking out union members of the International Brotherhood of Paper Makers.
• 1921: Union workers belonging to the International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite and Paper Mill Workers went on strike for company recognition, a union shop, and better wages. The company responded by firing union workers, bringing in strikebreakers, and cutting wages.
• 1935: A major dispute and lockout occurred involving dock and transport workers over non-union handling of Powell River newsprint, which triggered broader coastal waterfront strikes in British Columbia.
• 1957: Mill workers staged a major three-month strike seeking improved wages and working conditions. Local institutions like the Powell River Credit Union and the union-backed sick-benefit society helped support families through the lengthy walkout.

Who Protects and Preserves our Industrial Historic Heritage?

Protection of our National Historic Sites falls under the mandate of Parks Canada. This government agency aims to ensure the ecological and commemorative integrity of historic protected spaces for present and future generations. For historic industrial sites, this means preserving at least some of their physical structural assets (machinery, architecture) and accurately communicating their historical context to the world.

As impressive as that sounds, many of these national historic sites, even if designated by the Federal Government, do not receive any legal protections under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act if privately owned. The designation of a National Historic Site under this Federal Act is strictly honorific and commemorative. It provides no statutory protection against demolition or alteration. Unless the land on which the industrial site rests is owned by the Crown, the protection and preservation of the site rests on the whims of the owner or the community.

British Columbia’s Heritage Conservation Act (HCA) is the provincial legislation that governs the protection and conservation of cultural heritage, archaeological sites, and historic objects. Other provinces have similar acts. The Act prevents the damage, alteration, or excavation of protected heritage sites, but only those sites dating prior to 1790.

And herein lies the problem and danger to the Powell River Paper Mill industrial site complex:

It is neither protected under Federal nor Provincial Heritage Legislation. And is there enough public goodwill, given its impact on community health and the environment, to protect it (or parts of it) in the future?

I’m certain that those working in provincial or federal heritage legislation are aware of the importance of this industrial complex. But there are many hurdles involved in protecting, preserving, and presenting it to the public: part of it is owned by the Tla’amin Nation, on whose traditional lands it sits, and Cranberry Business Park Ltd who recently purchased it from Domtar (formerly Paper Excellence). The site is dangerous and highly polluted. It encompasses a massive footprint with considerable infrastructure. Simply stabilizing this existing infrastructure is a large, costly undertaking. And much of the older equipment and artifacts have already been removed.

Once a world leader in paper production, the largest paper mill of its kind, and the first paper mill in western Canada, this truly unique Canadian Industrial site finally shut down in 2015. It now faces an uncertain future. ¹⁶

My personal reasons for writing about this industrial site stem from my interest in industrial history. I have also had experience, when working for the Government of Alberta as a heritage officer, in dealing with historic industrial sites. There are real horrors and nightmares facing municipal, provincial, and federal governments when deciding what to do with sites such as this. There are no easy answers or solutions.

Our Canadian Industrial History, Warts and All – Protect It or Purge It?

The mill hired many workers and provided Canada and the rest of the world with paper products. The mill exposed workers to danger and was a major polluter.

I have dealt with similar situations elsewhere in Canada. The question many people have is: Why are you preserving or recognizing an Alberta Oblate Mission (Lac La Biche Oblate Mission) that served as a residential school for Indigenous youth? Why are you preserving a pottery site (Medalta Potteries, Medicine Hat) that was a ‘sweat shop’ for its workers?

The reasons for preservation are difficult to articulate and justify to Canadians. The heritage legislation’s core message does not discriminate between a ‘good’ or a ‘bad’ history. For example, Parks Canada’s heritage designation process doesn’t suggest that a selected particular piece of history is an ‘honour or trophy for good behaviour.’ Designation is supposed to act as an archive of national significance, whether that significance or legacy is good or bad.

What my colleagues and I have always argued in such cases, and is applicable here, is that denying the Powell River Mill’s historic status, because of colonial, labour relations, and environmental harms, erases its historic accountability. By preserving it (or at least parts of it), we can talk about colonialism (the land the site sits on was taken from First Nations Peoples), labour unrest, and environmental issues that still plague this site and region today. If all evidence that it even existed is eradicated, will anyone remember what happened here fifty, one-hundred, two-hundred years from now?

Moving Forward

What might seem as the ideal solution for the Powell River Mill site, in terms of historic preservation and recognition, does not always align with reality. Eventual decisions for this site’s future involve many stakeholders – First Nations, cities, municipalities, Provincial and Federal governments, and private business owners. Each stakeholder has a legitimate say and often a different perspective on what should happen to the mill’s infrastructure and land.  Not many of these visions include preservation or protection.

The Tla’amin Nation got some land back, which they claim was unlawfully taken from them in 1878. Under colonial and provincial land laws of the 1870s, the Crown explicitly prohibited the sale of occupied Indian villages or settlements to private settlers. Private investors applied to buy a massive block of timberland, designated as Lot 450, which directly encompassed tiskʷat—the permanent, ancestral home and vital salmon-fishing hub of the Tla’amin people. ¹⁷

The City of Powell River wants to recoup potential tax losses after the paper mill closed by developing the site into new industrial businesses. It has absorbed a multi-million-dollar structural tax revenue deficit since the mill stopped production and its property assessment values plummeted. Historically, the mill was the municipality’s economic backbone, contributing a massive share of the city’s annual property tax revenues. When the mill permanently shut down and deconstruction began, its property assessment value crashed from historical highs down to roughly $2.4 million.

Cranberry Business Park Ltd operates as the primary commercial developer and site manager for the industrial core of the former mill site. They own roughly 75% of the property, which includes the central gates, the massive paper machine buildings, and the heavy utility grid infrastructure. The legal and financial responsibility for cleaning up the pollution at the former Tis’kwat mill site is divided between the previous corporate owner, Domtar (Paper Excellence), and the private buyer, Cranberry Business Park Ltd. ¹⁸

The Provincial Government of British Columbia’s stance on the mill site is focused on enforcing environmental accountability and advancing economic reconciliation, rather than bailing out private interests or preserving the physical mill structures. ¹⁹. The province views the site’s transition as a high-stakes balancing act: it must prevent another bankrupt “orphaned” industrial liability (which has previously cost B.C. taxpayers hundreds of millions at other coastal mills) while helping the region pivot to a post-paper economy. ²⁰

The Federal Government of Canada’s position on the Tis’kwat mill site aligns with the province’s stance. It does not support the preservation of the mill’s buildings. Ottawa defines its role through strict corporate oversight, national resource regulation, and a formal legal acknowledgment of Indigenous land rights. The federal government deliberately excluded the heavy industrial mill site footprint from heritage protections. Ottawa’s stance is that preserving obsolete 20th-century paper manufacturing structures holds no national historical value, and the site must be allowed to undergo deconstruction to adapt to a modern economy. And yet, in other parts of Canada they do just that!

Residents from Local Communities are deeply divided about the future of the mill site. For example, for some residents: ‘It is an icon of the Townsite and a defining feature of Powell River’s identity.’ Many families have multi-generational roots in the community related to the mill. For them, the demolition of the mill feels like the erasure of their identity. These residents feel that at least some of the century-old brickwork or unique industrial facades should be preserved to maintain visual continuity with the adjacent Powell River Townsite National Historic District.

Conversely, for the Tla’amin Nation, the 20th-century industrial history of the mill is not something to be celebrated or protected. For them, the physical mill buildings represent a colonial infrastructure that was built on top of a fraudulently seized ancestral village (tiskʷat) and actively destroyed a vital salmon river. They want to tear down the heavy industrial footprint, remediate the toxic soil, and allow the natural riverfront environment to heal.

Industrial/Business Development

A large portion of the community, including local business owners and real estate developers, view the mill complex as a ‘backwards-facing trap’. The prevailing sentiment among this group is that “you can’t eat history.” They argue that keeping obsolete, decaying industrial buildings standing purely for sentimentality creates safety liabilities and discourages modern investors.

Another segment of the community supports Cranberry Business Park’s strategy. They argue that the interior machinery should be scrapped as long as the large mill sheds are saved and repurposed for such things as indoor agriculture or data centres to bring back jobs and rebuild the tax base.

The Circular Economy Hub is a community organization that wants to bridge the gap between those who want to save history and those who want to get rid of it. From what I’m reading and hearing, the community has largely embraced the circular economy salvage project. By partnering with local groups to save clean timber, industrial artifacts, and building components from demolition, residents feel a piece of the mill’s physical legacy is being kept alive.

Obviously, because of land claims, hazardous conditions, and high costs in maintenance and upkeep, a lot of the original mill can no longer be maintained. The unwillingness of the Province of British Columbia and the Government of Canada to provide any protective measures or economic support for preserving some of the infrastructure leaves its future to the local community, and decisions about what to save and what not to save solely in the hands of site owners. Is this the best way to go forward?

Are There Precedents in Other Parts of Canada?

1. Rossdale Powerplant, Edmonton, Alberta

The Powell River scenario is not uncommon. It is reminiscent of my dealings with EPCOR’s Rossdale Powerplant in Edmonton, Alberta. This industrial plant, located in the heart of Edmonton, provided much of the city’s electricity for many years. And like the Powell River Mill, the community was undecided on how to move forward once it was no longer operational. There were many stakeholders, and emotions ran high. The debate ranged from completely scrapping the site’s infrastructure to maintaining some of the buildings in hopes of eventually repurposing them.

Unlike the Powell River Mill, specific structures of EPCOR’s decommissioned Rossdale Power Plant have been designated as both a Provincial Historic Resource by the Government of Alberta in 2001 and listed on the City of Edmonton’s Inventory of Historic Resources. Only the Low Pressure Plant (Turbine House and Boiler House), Pumphouse No. 1, and the Administration Building are protected. ²¹ This compromise has ensured that this part of the industrial site is preserved while awaiting repurposing.

However, that’s precisely where the hang-up is occurring – what to do with these buildings within the confines of historical protection. The site was decommissioned in 2001, and the City of Edmonton took full ownership from EPCOR. The city spent six million dollars to stabilize and reinforce the facility. It has only seen temporary use for pop-up-events. The city has issued a request for development proposals. We are still waiting…

2. Medalta Potteries, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

I have written previously about this site, but it is worth repeating to make a few crucial points about industrial history and preservation/protective measures.

Here’s an example, from Medicine Hat, Alberta, of how certain biases often get in the way of national recognition and when the Federal Government actually steps up to preserve industrial history and archaeology.

‘Nothing But A Human Sweatshop’: Medalta Potteries, Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

Many of us working in the heritage profession realized in the 1970s the historic importance of Alberta’s Medalta Potteries. Constructed in 1916 and operating until 1954, this pottery factory was the first in western Canada to send products to eastern Canada. Its pottery clays came from southeastern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The raw clay was fired using the extensive natural gas reserves present in the Medicine Hat area.

The Medalta industrial site met the criteria outlined in the Canadian Government’s recognition of National Historic Sites. However, some politically powerful individuals in the community felt that this part of Alberta’s history was better left untold. It was considered an example of ‘dark history’. The sentiment was: why promote and raise a place to Provincial or National Historic status where people laboured hard and were often paid poorly?

The story becomes even more perverse. Because of this political pushback, the Province was reluctant to acquire and preserve this site when the opportunity arose, which would have made it a Provincial Historic Site. ²² In 1985, however, the Medalta Potteries Site was designated a National Historic Site and its history is being interpreted to the public.

3. The Britannia Mine Story

A look closer to home at a great historical industrial development is the Britannia Mine complex. This is a good example of the community working together with governments to turn a bad industrial polluter into solid regional history.

Located on Howe Sound on Canada’s West Coast, the Britannia Mine operated from 1904 to 1974. It was once the largest copper mine in the British Commonwealth. Over its history, more than 60,000 people from over fifty countries lived and worked in this remote and self-contained community.

Britannia’s story is one of innovation and resilience — from groundbreaking advancements in ore extraction to record-breaking copper production. It’s also a story marked by visionary and authoritarian managers, devastating fires, floods, and a tragic rockslide.

Today, it is one of Canada’s most successful environmental remediation projects. Thanks to these efforts, salmon and trout have returned to the local creeks. The museum contains approximately 7,000 mining artifacts that interpret the mine’s history and the life of its miners. The Britannia Beach Historical Society founded the Museum in 1971. The society also collected 9,500 photographs and 3,000 archival documents, making this one of the most comprehensive sets of records of Canadian mining.

The Britannia Mine Museum has preserved 23 historic industrial, administrative, and domestic buildings, safeguarding the technological footprint of what was once the British Empire’s largest copper producer. This has cost the community and governments millions of dollars.

The Britannia mine site’s history does not always conjure up a rosey picture. Like the Powell River paper mill, there were labour and environmental problems. But the community has embraced the idea that the mine would act as a centrepiece to tell the story of Canada’s mining legacy.

What, If Anything, Should be Saved of the Powell River Paper Mill?

Should some of this site be preserved?  Given the historical importance of this mill, both to the development of the paper industry and the surrounding community, perhaps yes?  You could adapt the statement from the Britannia Mine to fit Powell River:  “to preserve the material and social history indicating the importance of the pulp and paper industry in British Columbia.”

If, and that is the big question, anything is to be saved that best represents and symbolizes the Powell River paper mill’s history, the following pieces of infrastructure come to mind:

The Kraft Mill Smokestack: The massive concrete mill smokestack is a major flashpoint. Many residents have fiercely advocated for its preservation, arguing in local forums and letters to the editor that the stack is a defining icon of the Townsite’s skyline. To them, it stands as a monument to the working-class generations who built the city. “Rather than erasing the past, the smokestack invites consideration of where Powell River has come from, the land it stands on and how its history can inform a more thoughtful and inclusive future.” Loy Leyland, architect, Vancouver. ²³

“The Hulks” – The Concrete Ship Breakwater: The historic collection of sunken or moored concrete ship hulks (such as those from WWII eras) protecting the log pond area uniquely captures the West Coast’s maritime-industrial collaboration. ²⁵

These ships require maintenance, which requires money. But there is uncertainty about how best to deal with them. One plan is to sink them and use them as a maritime dive destination. Others want them saved and interpreted, as they are a unique type of shipping in North America and are part of the Powell River Mill Complex. “At the risk of turning this into an ‘OpEd’, the view of the author is that in the event that any more of the concrete ships become ‘surplus to requirements’, then rather than being scuttled, however valuable ‘artificial reefs’ are seen to be, at least one of the McCloskey Dry Cargo steamers, SS Peralta and Quartz should be moved to a suitable location, a place of safety, where they can become a ‘living maritime museum’ so that people can understand and marvel at their history. This could of course be at Powell River.” ²⁶

The Original Hydroelectric Dam/Power Infrastructure: Signifies the harnessing of local water power that made establishing a remote, state-of-the-art newsprint mill possible in 1910.

The Historic Townsite: The townsite is mostly intact and has received recognition as a National Historic District. The homes and a few of the community buildings are privately owned.

Individual buildings such as the old post office have received historic recognition within this district. However, the building itself does not have individual legal heritage protection, as is the case for the privately owned homes.

A Few Closing Comments

It has been my experience with historic industrial sites such as this that decisions on their future often undergo various stages: 1) shock at losing an economic icon; 2) varying emotions on what the site’s future should look like, which result in considerable turmoil within the community; 3) a grudging reality about decisions on the future of the site, that are based on community input, environmental and economic realities, and how best to preserve its historic legacy.

I think the community of Powell River is between stages 2 and 3, as emotions and reality are still often in conflict with one another.

As an outsider looking in (although I own property in Townsite and am a taxpayer), I see a few major issues with this process thus far that concern me:

• No professional Input on historic protection (at least that I am aware of). As it stands, members of the public and private sectors are deciding what, if anything, might be important to preserve/protect of the mill site. Members of the public have every right to have input, but consulting with historic preservation experts might provide them with new ideas and more insight and options on what is historically important and how it might be incorporated into the larger community master plan. As of yet, I have seen no master plan outlining exactly how the ‘circular wheel model’ will work. The problem with the current approach is that infrastructure is already being torn down that might, if not dangerous or contaminated, add to the historic story. Not identifying what is important first before salvage begins is not the best way to proceed.
• Unlike the Rossdale Power Plant in Edmonton, Alberta, there is absolutely no provincial or federal protection or support of either the paper mill site or the historic townsite. It seems everyone is relying on goodwill to protect and preserve these valuable historic resources.  But what will happen ten, fifty, or one-hundred years down the road if no government protective measures are in place? What if property values change, promoting rapid sales or development on the townsite? What if businesses or developers decide to remodel the industrial buildings to the point where they lose most of their historic integrity (which any heritage act would curtail)? I don’t envision these historic resources lasting very long before economics take precedence. There needs to be some government oversight, or all could be lost. Both the provincial and federal governments aren’t consistent in protecting these historic resources.
• Like the Britannia mine example, community members have to show interest in protection and preservation. Is there enough community interest to preserve some of this history?  If so, some pressure needs to be put on provincial and federal heritage branches as well as municipal and provincial politicians. Right now, no one has a clear idea what proportion of the population would support preservation and what that might look like.
  

My final comment goes out to the Indigenous community. I acknowledge that you have every right to hate everything about this part of the area’s history. I can understand why you might want to ‘erase’ and ‘eradicate’ it. But by eradicating it, you lose an opportunity to teach others about that part of your history.

Why not use parts of the standing paper mill infrastructure and tell the story of colonialism from your perspective? This is a more powerful way of getting the message out there about the wrongs that happened to your culture, your people, and how this place fits into that history.

For more information about the future of this historical industrial complex, there are many chat sites such as “Vanishing History Powell River” where people discuss and debate the history and future of the paper mill site. I just ran across this new website below that makes big promises. I hope it fulfills them. Hopefully it will also act as a public forum for the community to debate the future of this site.

Are we missing an opportunity here to interpret the history of Canada’s paper industry, like the Britannia Mine interprets Canada’s mining to Canadians and the world? The Boréalis, Center for the History of the Paper Industry, is the only other museum in Canada that interprets the history of paper. And it does it with much less historic infrastructure than exists in Power River.

When you first drive into historic townsite, no words are further from the truth than ‘Dirty Old Town’. This gorgeous part of Canada has a deep and complex history. Come and visit this most beautiful area of Canada and walk down the beautiful trails in old-growth forest back through some of that industrial history.

Footnotes:

1. http://www.redbaywhalers.ca/home/unesco-world-heritage-site.htm[↩]
2. I am even willing to go so far to suggest that this historic industrial complex is of international importance because it was a world leader in paper production and evolving technology.[↩]
3. Left photographs, courtesy of: https://www.sunshinecoastcanada.com/listing/the-patricia-theatre/183/. Right photograph, courtesy of: https://coastculture.com/member-profile/the-historic-patricia-theatre/[↩]
4. The Garden City movement was a utopian urban planning concept created in 1898 by Ebenezer Howard in the United Kingdom.
   It combined the best parts of town and country living while removing their downsides. The Powell River Company used these principles to keep workers healthy, happy, and productive. The design countered the dark, dirty image of traditional industrial cities by embedding nature directly into the urban grid. In this beautiful setting, that wasn’t hard to accomplish.[↩]
5. Photo Credit: Campbell River Museum and Archives 11146 Campbell River Museum-and-Archives 11146.[↩]
6. printed in 2001 by the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives.[↩]
7. The Powell River Mill Story, published by the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives.[↩]
8. From “The Crete Fleet”. https://thecretefleet.com/blog/f/hulks—the-breakwater-ships-of-powell-river—john-a-campbell[↩]
9. From: Bryan E. C. Bogdanski. 2014. The Forestry Chronicle, Vol 90(6). Right graph: World production of paper and future projections. From: Lauri Hetamaki, Marc Palaphf and Robert Nasi. 2020. Seeing the Wood in the Forest. Knowledge to Action.[↩]
10. Band, P.R., Le, N.D., Fang, R., et.al. 2001. Cohortt Cancer Incidence Among Pulp and Paper Workers in British Columbia.[↩]
11. Source: https://www.prpeak.com/opinion/viewpoint-after-the-mill-how-do-we-protect-our-community-5826670[↩][↩]
12. for more details on notable mill unrest, refer to A Blue-Collar History of Powell River. Our town’s story, from the perspective of the workers who built it, by Craig Turney, September 30, 2024. https://www.bchistoryboy.ca/p/a-blue-collar-history-of-powell-river[↩]
13. images from https://www.facebook.com/groups/265954608981514/posts/1035678555342445/[↩]
14. from: A Blue-Collar History of Powell River. Our town’s story, from the perspective of the workers who built it, by Craig Turney, September 30, 2024. https://www.bchistoryboy.ca/p/a-blue-collar-history-of-powell-river[↩]
15. City of Vancouver Archives: CVA 371-1127. From A Blue-Collar History of Powell River. Our town’s story, from the perspective of the workers who built it, by Craig Turney, September 30, 2024. https://www.bchistoryboy.ca/p/a-blue-collar-history-of-powell-river[↩]
16. For more details on the history of the mill site, readers should refer to Bill Thompson’s (2001) book, entitled The Powell River Mill Story, published by the Powell River Historical Museum and Archives.[↩]
17. The Government of Canada formally validated the legitimacy of this claim when it officially accepted the Tla’amin Nation’s Specific Claim for Lot 450 (the mill site) for formal negotiations. In the Canadian legal framework, a specific claim is only accepted if the federal government reviews the historical and legal evidence and acknowledges that it breached its lawful fiduciary duties to a First Nation. Sources: Deception, Delays and Theft. The truth about tisk^wat you won’t find in history books, by Davis McKenzie, https://www.tlaaminnation.com/deception-delays-and-theft-the-truth-about-tiskwat-you-wont-find-in-history-books/; Government of Canada and Tla’amin Nation will begin specific claims negotiations on tisk^wat. The parties commence negotiations 145 years after Tla’amin was displaced from its original village site. https://www.tlaaminnation.com/deception-delays-and-theft-the-truth-about-tiskwat-you-wont-find-in-history-books/[↩]
18. Under British Columbia’s “polluter pays” principle—codified in the provincial Environmental Management Act—a company that causes industrial contamination cannot simply walk away from its environmental liabilities by selling the land. The cleanup of the site operates under a strict, multi-layered regulatory framework.[↩]
19. From The Nightmare Mess Left by One Closed Pulp Mill. Documents expose the huge cleanup BC faces for Port Alice and 11 more shut mills. Will new projects also slip off the hook?, in The Tyee (https://thetyee.ca/News/2025/07/14/Nightmare-Mess-Closed-Pulp-Mill/[↩]
20. From Tla’amin Nation, B.C. commit to working together to safeguard future of tiskʷat site, in BC Government New (https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2023IRR0061-001672[↩]
21. Provincial and municipal designation means the buildings are protected under the Historical Resources Act. They cannot be altered in any way without the consent of the government[↩]
22. Only those sites owned by the Government of Alberta and run as functioning historic sites or museums are designated Provincial Historic Sites. Because the Provincial Government never bought the site, it is not a designated Provincial Historic Site.[↩]
23. PEAK, Letter to the Editor, January 2026. https://www.prpeak.com/opinion/letter-smokestack-one-of-the-communitys-recognizable-symbols-11804654[↩]
24. https://www.prpeak.com/opinion/letter-smokestack-one-of-the-communitys-recognizable-symbols-11804654[↩]
25. For more detailed information about the history of these ships, please read Hulks – The Breakwater Ships of Powell River by John A. Campbell, 2003.[↩]
26. From: Hulks – The Breakwater Ships of Powell River – John A Campbell. https://thecretefleet.com/blog/f/hulks—the-breakwater-ships-of-powell-river—john-a-campbell[↩]

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