Mapping Bowen History

Part of Squamish Coast Salish territory, ‘Xwlil’xhwm’  (‘fast drumming ground’), was known as a neutral meeting ground for various Native groups. Early settlers remember a village (‘Qolelaqom’) at Snug Cove. Seasonal or not, Bowen Island was a major hunting and gathering ground for the Squamish, who had fish traps in Snug Cove, dug clams  in Tunstall Bay and left numerous middens across the island at Deep Bay, Tunstall Bay, Pebbly Beach, Cowan Point, Malkins Beach and Hood Point.

1937: Sko-Mish-Oath, the Territory of the Squamish Indian Peoples.

Spanish explorer Captain Narveaz sailed across the entrance to Howe Sound in 1791 and named Bowen Island ‘Isla de Apodaca’ (Bowen Island became the official name in 1859). A year later, Captain George Vancouver arrived to visit and trade with local Natives. The first point of European contact marked the beginning of a major transition in the use of Bowen’s land, from hunter-gatherer society to farmland and rural residential areas.

1792: Vancouver’s Chart.

The Land Ordinance Act of 1870 allowed a male British subject over eighteen to pre-empt a plot of land for a minimum of four years. WJ Davies’ pre-emption claim on Lot 490 in Snug Cove was the first official pre-emption. Other early pre-emptions include Joseph Mannion’s in 1885 (Lot 492 at Tunstall Bay).

1889: Bowen Island Lots 489, 490, 491 1889: WJ Davies’ Pre-emption Claim.

The maps below show the plots of land that settlers chose to begin their life on the island. The Admirality Chart was used by the Department of BC Lands to plot district lots for settlers. Early arrivals to Bowen Island came to live off the land and make use of Bowen Island’s abundant resources; most claims had farms, orchards and barns. Soon, Vancouver would become the market for settlers to sell their produce and other goods to.

1860 – 1890: Admirality Chart. 1884 – 1809: District Lots & Owners.

In Bowen’s early days, the land provided rich resources for individuals and corporations alike. The photographs below at Deep Bay and Tunstall Bay show that the land was an attractive source of resources, as the ocean provided easy access to thick forest stands, and Vancouver’s ports were nearby. Beginning in 1884 when Royal City Planning Mills pre-empted Lot 489 (close to Snug Cove) many would take advantage of the island’s resources; Tunstall Bay, Bowen Bay, Sealeigh Park and Bluewater Park were all owned by various lumber companies. Logging camps on the island provided a living for many settlers, while clay and slate were extracted to send to American and Canadian ports, and a brickyard operated north of Terminal Creek on Lot 490. Copper mines were located south of Dorman point and on the northeast side of the island near Cates Bay. In 1911, an explosives factory under Western Explosive and George Tunstall was located at Lot 492.

c. 1913 : Explosives Factory at Tunstall Bay. 1913: Plan of Foreshore by Canadian Explosives Ltd. c. 1910: Logging Above Deep Bay. Below centre

The tourism business had an early start on Bowen Island- the close proximity that made it so ideal for resouce extraction made it a close holiday get-away for Vancouver residents. The Howe Sound Hotel at Hood Point  (late 1890’s) was the first hotel open to the public on Bowen Island, and was mainly used by loggers. The forests and beaches on the east side of the island provided perfect camp grounds, and settlers already established on the island capitalized on the visitors by building attractions; the Dorman’s constructed a merry-go-round at the Snug Cove. Bowen’s land began to be cleared and altered for picnic grounds; the first resort era would soon be here.

1900: Dorman’s Merry-go-round. 1900: Beach Campers in Deep Bay.

In 1912, the land at Scarborough and Eaglecliff was subdivided into quarter acre lots at $125 each, and half acre lots at $200, and in 1915 the land was later used for tents built for campers.

1909: Plan of Lot 1553. 1914: Plan of District Lot 1552

In 1900, Captain John Cates purchased the old Mannion estate at Deep Bay and began the Hotel Monaco, beginning the frenzied resort era on the island. Three hundred fruit trees were planted north of the lagoon, land was cleared for playgrounds, more cottages and tents, twelve portable houses and a store. The grounds were used by church, company and union picnics, games and tournaments. Between 1900 and 1910, a wooden bridge connected Snug Cove to the hotel grounds where the causeway is today. From below Bridal Veil falls to Sandy Beach provided a swimming and boating area, complete with a waterslide and diving platform, while the area between Snug Cove and Deep bay was forested campground. Wooden platforms and canvas tents were common in the woods between Snug Cove and Deep Bay, and as early as 1908 visitors began to complain that the area was overcrowded. Between 1910 and 1913, Captain Cates bought all the land around Killarney Lake and began Terminal Farms, which had a dairy, slaughter house, barns, stables, greenhouses and a silo. Deer, grouse, fruit, veggies, were shipped to the city to sell. The Hotel Monaco was renamed the Terminal Hotel between 1910 and 1920; in 1920, all of Captain Cates’ Bowen holdings were sold, starting the Union Steamship era on Bowen.

c. 1924: Terminal Hotel c. 1910: Birds Eye View of Playgrounds in Deep Bay . c. 1930: Aerial View of Snug Cove and Deep Bay, Looking North.

Distinct communities began to develop early in Bowen’s history; these were early residential plans for Bowen Island’s land. In 1927, a summer community was planned for Hood Point, and the land was purchased from Captain Cates. The plan is for the area is shown below. First, 13 cottages were built, but by the 1930’s, 21 houses had been built. Later in Hood Point’s history, the objective of the community was to create commonly owned facilities.

1928: Plan of Development of Hood Point Estate.

When Union Steamship Company bought the land from Captain Cates, they quickly began adding amenities to the land. In 1922, 7 cottages were built around the hotel, adding to the 28 already standing between the hotel and tennis courts. By this time, there was 180 cottages in forest between Snug Cove and Deep Bay, and in 1928, 20 more were built in Davies’ orchard. Advertisments for the hotel grounds boast of 1000 acres with 6 picnic grounds and a dance pavilion. In 1924, the ship the Lady Alexandra from Scotland left a legacy at Deep Bay by dumping her ballast of sand at what is now known as ‘Sandy Beach’. On summer weekends, it was not unusual for 5000 people to day-trip to the island. The union steamship store, now library, was built during this period. The land on the south-eastern side was consumed with day-trippers and holiday-makers using Bowen’s land as a paradise escape from the city.

1920 – 1940: Union Steamship Grounds, Mt Strahan Lodge. 1937: Union Estates Map

This photo shows a crowd of visitors enjoying Deep Bay, with the diving and slide platform on the left. Notice that there are one or two residences in view on the opposite shore, and that the trees on the horizon (at Miller’s Landing) have already been logged.

Circa 1940: Mt Strahan Lodge at Deep Bay.

The aerial photo shows the extent of the Union Steamship Company’s holdings. The physical landscape has some noticeable changes from today’s view – for instance, Snug Cove has not yet been dredged (the sand extends out much further), and the different shades of forest stands indicate recent logging tracts. The Union Steamships Ltd map shows the large amount of infrastructure in the area compared to today’s private residences.

1943: Union Estates Ltd Sketch Plan Showing District Lots 490 and 777. 1930 – 1950: Aerial View of Snug Cove and Deep Bay, facing west.

The west side of Bowen Island, including Tunstall Bay, Bowen Bay and Bluewater have all been owned by various logging companies (and by Western Explosives) starting from the late 1800’s. In 1938, a transition between industrial and residential land use occured, when the Adams family bought 850 acres at Tunstall Bay, accessible only by boat or rough trail at the time. However, Camp Gates was used as insitutional use in 1950 when Camp Gates was established by the Vancouver Sun. In 1943, the Bowen Bay Association, later Bowen Bay Holdings, bought 100 acres at Bowen Bay to create waterfront subdivisions. In 1957, Bluewater Park (Lot 3042) was bought and developed. The aerial view shows the state of Bowen’s landscape in the middle of the 20th century.

c. 1947: Northern Bowen Island. c. 1950: Trail Map of Camp Gates at Tunstall Bay

The New Wesminster map of Bowen’s legend shows logging roads, as well as power and telephone lines. Distinct neighborhoods of denser lots and residences can be seen at Cowan’s Point, Hood point, Mt. Gardner Park, and mid-island, although notice that Bluewater is in the early stages of subdivision, while Tunstall Bay has not yet been subdivided. Small lots are shown directly north of Mt Gardner’s summit, but the most populated part of the island is still the east coast closest to the boat access from Vancouver. There are still many large lots shown, particularly at Cape Roger Curtis and where the Ecological Reserve is today.

1947: Bowen Island. 1949: Map of Bowen Island, New Westminster District.

Forestry has been a relatively continuous use of the land since Bowen Island was first ‘discovered’ by settlers of European descent. Here, the effects on the landscape of logging can clearly be seen. Killarney and Grafton Lakes can be seen, as well as a farm in the bottom right-hand corner of the image.

c. 1950: Landscape of Mt. Gardner and surrounding area.

The view of the south end of Bowen Island shows Apodaca Park, deeded to the provinical government by JS Matthews in 1954. The 1950’s mark the start of Bowen Island’s land being considered for provincial and regional parks.

1952: South End of Bowen Island. North-east Bowen Island.

The resort business was still going strong at the end of the 1940’s, with Evergreen Park Resort as the destination. However, the Union Steamship Company began to restrict access to the hotel and grounds, picnic tables were taken from the picnic grounds, and the dance hall was closed. In 1957, Evergreen Resort closed, although 180 cottages were still available for rent from the estate. In 1962, the hotel was demolished, and most cottages fell into abandon, especially on the north side of government road. The advent of the car during this time meant that people wanted to travel further afield for holidays; Bowen Island’s land was no longer the ultimate paradise, although of course, many on-foot tourists still visit today. In the aerial view, the picnic grounds and resort are still visible, and most of the private lots and buildings seen today are not there (Miller’s Landing, Cates Hill, etc.) In contrast to previous photo’s, Snug Cove has been dredged by this time.

1959: Aerial View of Snug Cove and Deep Bay. 1950’s: Evergreen Park Resort.

These maps show the extent to which the Union Steamship Company monopolized land on Bowen Island, or at least the side of the island most popular as a tourist destination.

1951: Map of Bowen Island showing Bowen Island Waterworks Ltd, Bowen Estates and Union Steamship Company holdings. 1958: Union Steamships Ltd, showing boundaries.

The year 1962 saw a major transition in land use, when the Union Steamship Company put their Snug Point subdivision on the market, thus drawing to a close the booming resort industry. The 17 acres between Snug Cove and Deep Bay, where the dance pavilion, bandstand, tearoom and picnic ground were was sectioned into private residences. Along the south side of Deep Bay, one lot along the beach was saved for public access (today, Sandy Beach) and one was bought by the the CNIB camp (open 1963). The Deep Bay and Miller’s Landing subdivision occured in 1964, occupying the land where the number 3 picnic grounds were. The bottom left aerial view shows the store in the original site, the Lower Dance Hall still there and the new CNIB lodge. The inside wing of the original steamer dock is gone, as is the hotel, but three of five tennis courts at the resort still remain, as do Evergreen Hall and the Men’s Dorm. The passenger ferry dock and log booms can be seen in Snug Cove.

1962: Aerial View of Snug Cove and Deep Bay, showing major changes. 1962: Plan of Subdivision of District Lot 490 between Snug Cove and Deep Bay. 1962: Aerial View of Miller’s Landing. 1963: Subdivision Plan of District Lot 1628 and 49 at Miller’s Landing.

Four categories of land use are shown here: residential, commercial, industrial and rural. This map highlights the transition from resource extraction/industrial land use that dominated Bowen’s early history to a largely residential/rural island with developed blocks of neighborhoods: Hood Point, Miller’s Landing/Scarbourough/Eaglecliff/Deep Bay/Snug Cove, Mt. Gardner Park, and Bowen Bay/Tunstall Bay/Bluewater, and Cowan’s Point. Here, only a few small tracts of land show industrial land use (indicated by the darker red colour) are shown, while rural (white) and residential (yellow) dominate the map.

c. 1960: General Land Use and Zoning.

Although Bluewater was developed in the 1950’s, Tunstall Bay wasn’t subdivided until 1969, when Dee Cee Projects planned residential, condos and commercial lots for the area. Like other neighborhoods on Bowen, the plan was for community amenities (tennis courts, a pool etc.) to be for members only. In the aerial view below, the roads leading into the subdivision can be clearly seen.

1974: Aerial View of Bluewater, Bowen Bay and Tunstall Bay. 1968: Plot Map of Tunstall Bay Lot Developments.

The major themes of land use change on Bowen Island are captured in this image of Snug Cove. The Collins Farm (still present today) provides a link to the early farming and pioneering days, while the old hotel site is marked. Residential and commmerical land use dominate the areas closest to the ferry, and Crippen Park has yet to be taken into account.

1978: Snug Cove Plan of Existing Landuse.

The map below shows areas of public and recreational land use (represented by the dots), and rural use (represented by the diagonal lines) interspersed with blocks of residential housing. While Bowen’s land has been used for residences since settlers first began coming to the island in the late 1800’s, the focus on land for public use is interesting considering Bowen’s history of ownership by various companies and private landowners.

2001: Existing Zoning Bylaw.