From Captain George Vancouver to Muriel “Curve of Time” Blanchet to Jim “Spilsbury’s Coast” Spilsbury, visitors to Desolation Sound have left behind a trail of books endowing the area with a romantic aura that helps to make it British Columbia’s most popular marine park. In this hilarious and captivating book, CBC personality Grant Lawrence adds a whole new chapter to the saga of this storied piece of BC coastline.

​A collection of pioneer tales and first hand interviews with early settlers to the Powell River area. Compiled by Bill Thompson from the oral history transcripts of the Powell River Historical Museum & Archives, and portraits and interviews of Powell Riverites from the archived editions of the Powell River News, Powell River Digester, the Triangle and other local publicationsCovering the area between Jervis Inlet and Desolation Sound, including upper Texada Island, this two-volume collection of local tales provides a colorful chronicle of Powell River’s pioneering past.

​A collection of pioneer tales and first hand interviews with early settlers to the Powell River area. Compiled by Bill Thompson from the oral history transcripts of the Powell River Historical Museum & Archives, and portraits and interviews of Powell Riverites from the archived editions of the Powell River News, Powell River Digester, the Triangle and other local publications. Covering the area between Jervis Inlet and Desolation Sound, including upper Texada Island, this two-volume collection of local tales provides a colorful chronicle of Powell River’s pioneering past.

Stories are compiled from interviews with students and teachers who attended West Coast rural schools from 1893 to 1950; also included are articles submitted by individual authors. The school memories generously given, give context to the detailed history of the schools, teachers and students of the Powell River District (now qathet Regional District) and surrounding region.

Tales of the Coast: The Union Steamship blasts its whistle in nearby Stillwater, soon she sails into sight and ties up at the Lang Bay wharf. First to step on deck, and pick up the all-important mail is Lang Bay postmistress, five-foot, silver haired Granny Young wearing her freshly ironed cotton dress, and sporting a Union Steamship cap, given to her by one of the crew.

​Join the surging crowds to meet and greet the many west coast characters disembarking from the boar. They have fascinating tales to tell….
Coast Powell River is Barbara Ann Lambert’s eighth and newest book on local history.

Beautiful Desolation Sound, 150 km north of Vancouver, has for many years been the most popular cruising destination on the BC coast, but is today almost as devoid of local occupants as it was in 1792 when the dyspeptic Captain George Vancouver gave it its misleading name. It has not always been this way. Thick clamshell middens in remote bays, rotted pilings on silent estuaries, ambitious stone terraces on vacant hillsides, overgrown fences around deserted fields, even abandoned railroads–all contribute to an impression that this is an area full of ghosts, an area with a storied past.

An account of the seventeen different railways operating at various times in the area from the middle 1890’s until 1955.

Imagine obtaining one hundred and sixty acres of land for FREE! Then comes the real payment: the sweat and toil of living in a remote wilderness and clearing a landscape where the stumps left behind are so large and so numerous the best bet is to use dynamite to remove them. Beginning in 1859 such homesteading typified the arrival of white settlers in British Columbia. Along the Upper Sunshine Coast, of those who took up the challenge, only some succeeded in carving a life out of this wild land, while many failed. Through prodigious research and the careful cultivation of interviews, Barbara Ann Lambert tells the stories of those resourceful arrivals, and conveys the rich history of the Sunshine Coast. 

Speaks to the history of the Historic Townsite in Powell River. A Company built town based on the Garden City Concept with Craftsmen style influences. Volume I focuses on the buildings no longer standing in the Historic Townsite, either by wind, fire, or progress.

Speaks to the history of the Historic Townsite in Powell River. A Company built town based on the Garden City Concept with Craftsmen style influences. Volume II presents the standing buildings of the first phase of housing begun in 1910 and completed in 1916 as well as later infill buildings within the boundaries of Cedar and Yew Streets, east to west, and Arbutus to Aspen, north to south.

Speaks to the history of the Historic Townsite in Powell River. A Company built town based on the Garden City Concept with Craftsmen style influences. The area covered by Volume III is from 3rd (Aspen St.) Street south to the 7th (Fir St.) Street which, from a timeline view is from 1920 to 1948, but doesn’t include all houses in that time period. Willow St. is also included. 

The area covered by Volume IV is from 7th (Fir St.) Street to 11th (Laurel St.) Street north to south, encompassing the rest of the ‘New’ Town primarily constructed between 1925 and 1930.

Hulks, The Breakwater Ships of Powell River, documents the histories of the 19 ships that have formed the famous floating breakwater, at Powell River, BC. Long the objects of curiosity and misinformation, their stories are collected here for the first time. From the big canoes, the first steel U.S. Navy warships to be anchored offshore, to the ten peculiar concrete vessels that form the breakwater today, the Hulks are a diverse collection of vessels that fate brought together to form the largest floating breakwater in the world.

A collection of short stories and memories by Barbara Lambert and other local contributors speaking to the history of the Powell River and the surrounding regions, including Cortes Island, Myrtle Point, Paradise Valley, Blue Mountain, and Powell River’s Historic Townsite.

Biography of the man who won more prestigious awards for valour than any other Canadian soldier. John MacGregor VC MC & Bar DCM ED was a Scottish-Canadian soldier. MacGregor was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. MacGregor served in the Canadian army in both world wars.

Powell River was built by people who valued excellence in music and the arts. The best of the best were brought here to live, work, sing and play instruments. Since those early days, hosts of talented people from around the globe-singers, painters, writers and dancers-have continued to come here and make this picturesque place their home. Many Voices is a tribute to those people who have made this town a work of art in itself-a mosaic of people from diverse backgrounds who together form a solid but colourful creation.

Stories of the Powell Lake and Shingle Mill area and its history, including poetry, memories and first hand accounts of the people, industry and geography of Powell Lake. 

Billy-Goat Smith was a famous West Coast hermit. He came to Canada from the U.S. in 1910. He lived, until his death in 1958, in a remote area of Powell Lake. He never left his cabin, and relied on others to deliver his supplies, after his boat was wrecked in a storm in 1937.
Rumours swirled around this man. He was a crack-shot. Some say he was the best shot on the West Coast. His real name was Robert Bonner Smith but he gained his nickname by his ability to shoot a mountain goat from half a mile away. In The Mystery of Billy-Goat Smith, Gramps tells the story of Billy-Goat Smith to his two grandchildren, Jamie and Julie.

The Nelson Island Story: Including Hardy Island and Other Islands of Jervis Inlet covers 100 years of settlement and events of the area between Sechelt and Powell River from about the 1860s to the 1980s. The Nelson Island granite quarry, begun in the late 1800s, was the catalyst for settlement. It provided the granite for the Parliament Buildings in Victoria.

​​From Saltery Bay to Lund, including Savary Island and Texada island, Off the Beaten Path highlights favourite local hangouts, spectacular scenery and interesting local creatures. Featuring photos and information about Desolation Sound, the Sunshine Coast Trail and the Powell Forest Canoe Route, this book will wet the appetites of adventurists looking for new stomping grounds.

Compilation of “Old-Timer” stories of the Powell River area. including: Billy Goat Smith, Powell River Company, Christmas, Mr. Dippie & others.

Thompson’s second book of stories of the early Powell River era and some of the pioneers.

The White City was a welcoming beacon along the dark and lonely coast, thanks to a warm and happy glow from the Powell River Company mill lights that provided a landmark and comfort to boaters and fisherman alike. In People of the White City Emma Levez recounts the history of the Powell River Company, using interviews with old-timers who worked in the various departments of the mill and company records to give an overview of the operations of the Company and its industrious workers.

Published for Powell River’s centenary, Barbara Lambert’s Powell River 100, is a collection of oral histories of the Upper Sunshine Coast. With interviews from old timers, some of whom have since passed away, and includes remarkable historic photographs from family albums. PR 100 features 360 pages of stories and pictures and is told in Lambert’s own conversational style. 

Powell River and District Schools provides an overview of the history of education in the District of Powell River.

In 1960 Powell River celebrated its 50th anniversary. To celebrate and commemorate this event a team of Powell River residents spearheaded by A.H. Alsgard of the Powell River News and Town Crier came together to chronicle the first five decades of growth in Powell River’s history. Starting with the construction of the Mill and Townsite in 1910 First 50 details the development of the different communities, groups, organizations and businesses in the region. With contributions from local news publications and individual articles submitted by numerous local contributors, it becomes apparent how busy life was in this isolated community on the coast.

Powell River’s Railway Era presents a wonderful album of railroading in a coastal area of British Columbia. From 1895 to 1955, logging camps, mines and quarries all used railways and they were fascinating ones. Narrow gauge and standard gauge operations employed a delightful range of vintage locomotives and specialized equipment. They left a lasting legacy in the Powell River area and on nearby Texada Island. This is their enduring and intriguing story illustrated with hundreds of vintage photographs.

Powell River, a unique coastal town of British Columbia, was the first pulp and paper company community in western Canada. Pulp, Paper and People focuses on one year in every decade from 1907 to 1987 tracing the progress and regress of the community with each expansion and cut-back of their lifeline, the pulp and paper plant. The pioneers tell, in their own words, what a great place it is to live.

Seniors of the pulp and paper town of Powell River, BC remember two major events in their lives, the Great Depression and WWII. Some have lived 80 + years in the community, others recall events from other Canadian provinces. They were children during the Great Depression and young adults during WWII. A collection of 70 stories.

Cultural and historical description of the Klahoose, Holmalco and Sliammon Indians living along the northern coast of the Strait of Georgia, BC. All three bands are commonly referred to as the Sliammon. Kennedy and Bouchard’s comprehensive study of the Native people of the Desolation Sound area, Sliammon Life, Sliammon Lands, was published by Talonbooks in 1983.

A history of Texada Island compiled under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Cecil May, historians for the Texada Island Centennial Committee.

A chronicle of the Island’s colorful history from 1770 to 1997. With several chapters dedicated to the mines and industries that saw the early settlement of the Island, Thompson’s book also speaks to the people who were drawn by the growing industry and of the community which came to call Texada Island home. 

Texada is the largest island in the Strait of Georgia, a long strip of richly mineralized granite and limestone dividing the upper gulf. Travel time from Vancouver is six hours via three ferries. A newcomer’s first impression is of an idyllic place with a big sandy beach, a Sunday farmer’s market and a scant population of aging loggers, miners, pot-growers and other retirees, but this belies Texada’s intriguing history. Author Heather Harbord has dedicated years to research, including over a hundred interviews of locals and old-timers to create a captivating book full of unforgettable characters, humorous anecdotes and well-researched fact, accompanied by many previously unpublished photographs. 

The vision of Scanlon and Brooks for the Powell River pulp and paper mill started to become reality in 1908 when they began acquiring land. In 1910, the mill construction began, culminating in the first paper in 1912. The mill is still producing paper over 100 years later but has evolved numerous times over the intervening years. From the beginning the mill was an innovator in the science and technology of paper making.

SUNNY SANDY SAVARY outlines the geology and geography of Savary Island, the pre-historic First Nations myths about it and the Tla’amin Nations early habitation of it. Captain Vancouver named the island in 1792 when he sailed past it, but where the name comes from remains shrouded in mystery. For decades, the vagaries of the economy have dictated Savary’s development but recent years has seen the island become one of the most sought after cottage retreats of the B.C. coast. Author Ian Kennedy has owned property on Savary Island since 1980 and as an historian set out to write the definitive history of the whole island in time for the bi-centenary of Captain Vancouver’s naming of the island on July 1, 1792. Now in its third printing, this is a must-have for all Savaryites and those interested in B.C. Coastal history.

The Sunshine Coast Trail Guidebook by Eagle Walz is a step-by-step description of all the trails that make up the SCT. The descriptions are detailed and complete with GPS waypoints, directions to each trailhead, difficulty guidelines, and highlights to look for along the way.

British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast is a sublimely scenic 160-kilometre stretch of waterfront between Howe Sound and Desolation Sound, reached by a 40-minute ferry ride from West Vancouver. Join Howard White, award-winning humorist and lifelong coast denizen, on a guided tour from Gibsons, where the long-running TV series The Beachcombers was filmed, to Powell River, the largest community in the region.

Nestled on the British Columbia coast, the community of Powell River sent several Canadian men and women overseas to fight in the World War II. When all was said and done, more than forty war bride families made their home in Powell River and the nearby town of Stillwater. War Brides and Rosies compiles these families’ amazing stories and artfully captures the history of Powell River and Stillwater, British Columbia, during World War II. 

Long before vacationers and boaters discovered BC’s Sunshine Coast, the Sliammon, a Coast Salish people, called it and surrounding regions home. In this remarkable book, Elsie Paul, one of the last surviving mother-tongue speakers of the Sliammon language, collaborates with a scholar, Paige Raibmon, and her granddaughter, Harmony Johnson, to tell her life story and the history of her people, in her own words and storytelling style.