Known worldwide as “The Little Town That Did”©, Chemainus has a proud history steeped in the endeavours of several generations of loggers, fishers, miners and farmers.

Chemainus was founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858.

The community thrived and slow but steady growth continued throughout the twentieth century. That was about to change in the early 1980s with news that the town’s largest employer, the sawmill that employed 700 workers, was going to close.

Fortunately, through the efforts of an energetic young mayor at the Municipality of North Cowichan, Graham Bruce, a group of local businessmen dubbed the Group of Seven and an industrious promoter named Karl Schutz, Chemainus re-invented itself as a tourist destination. Murals depicting the town’s colourful history were painted on the outside walls of downtown businesses and outdoor art featuring sculptures and carvings was commissioned.

Not only had Chemainus survived what would have been an economic disaster, “The Little Town That Did”, was ready to take its place on the world stage, a position it continues to enjoy to this day.