Douglas Ranges - History

History

Because of the warmer climate (relative to the rest, even, of the British Columbia coastal lowlands), there were forests of immense trees throughout the Douglas Ranges, which were logged relatively early on in British Columbia's history. A network of logging railroads ran throughout the basin of the Chehalis River, which drains the core of the ranges to the southeast, meeting the Harrison River just north of Chehalis, British Columbia. In other areas east of Stave Lake and along the side of Harrison Lake, grades required roads instead of rail.

Timber from the Douglas Ranges supplied mills around Harrison Bay and along the Fraser's waterfront from there to Ruskin and Whonnock, British Columbia. Douglas Ranges wood especially went to mills at Mission City, which was the capital of cedar shake production in the world for many years. Nearby Eddy Match Co., between Mission and Hatzic, was one of the two largest matchstick-making plant in the world; its only rival was in Hull, Quebec.

The Douglas Ranges are subjected to torrential and ongoing rain, and its valleys are deep and narrow and dank throughout the year. Given that environment, no wonder it is the highest-rated region for sasquatch sightings in the world, and the very word comes from the Chehalis people on its southeastern rim.

The ridges and cliffs above the dark, steep valleys (mostly clearcut) are favourites of rock climbers and have supposedly some of the finest rock in the province; their name for the area is "The Chehalis".

The name Douglas Ranges dates to the gold rush of, which used Harrison River and Harrison Lake as part of a route to the Interior, the Douglas Road. They are not named directly for the colonial Governor, Sir James Douglas, but for the port and road that bore his name.