Maple Bay Village to Imadene Cove
From Maple Bay Village to Imadene Cove
Maple Bay Village. Before the railway and the highway, Maple Bay and Cowichan Bay used to be the points of entry to the Cowichan Valley. A steamer from Victoria called in every two weeks and landed at the site of the present government wharf. In the early 1860s, Tom Windsor built a store and an inn at the head of the wharf adjacent to what is now the current parking lot. The inn and store were later sold to William Beaumont who hoped to develop a town as this area had been surveyed for a townsite in 1864. His hopes were dashed with the arrival of the railway at Duncan’s Crossing.
While Maple Bay did not become the commercial centre for the Cowichan Valley it did become a community with some farms, some permanent residences, multitudes of summer cottages, a store - the Maple Bay Trading Company (now the Grapevine) and a hotel - the Maple Inn (now the Brig and Beaumont Place). The original inn built by Tom Windsor became a private residence and was known as the “Hattie House” until it was torn down sometime around 1960.
Maple Bay Beaches. Much has changed now with the proliferation of wharves along the shoreline but there used to be only 5 good stretches of shingle beach around the northwestern perimeter of the Bay and each had an informal name among bayside residents, usually the name of the adjacent property owner. The beach in front of what is now MBYC was called Wood’s beach. T.A. Wood first built a beach cottage and later a permanent home which is now the MBYC clubhouse. Duffy LeQuesne says she recently heard the next stretch of shingle to the north referred to as Elkington beach as this was where the beach cottage of William Elkington stood. The long stretch of sand below the bluff is known as Mackenzie beach as the Mackenzie’s had a fox farm here (presumably above the bluff). The longest and most used stretch of shingle fronts the village of Maple Bay.
The rocky point to the northeast of the Brig and Beaumont Place is known as Corfield Point after the Corfield residence that still stands there. Further to the east is the smallest beach, Peggy’s Cove (or Peggy’s Bay). This used to be a secluded little hideaway reached only by water or a steep trail through the trees. No one seems to know how Peggy’s Cove got its name.
Peggy's Cove today
Imadene Cove. This property south of MBYC was once the site of Camp Imadene, a Plymouth Brethren camp started in 1926 by Miss Lenore Rice in her father’s boathouse. As the camp grew, bunkhouse cabins were built around the periphery of the property while the main building and dining room stood close to the water. As the building extended out over the rocks, a beach walk from Maple Bay to Birds Eye frequently required a climb through the verandah supports. At high tide it was impassable though wandering kids were known to scurry across the verandah while the campers were occupied elsewhere. The camp owned a fleet of rowboats, all painted bright red so during recreation time the waters in front of the camp were dotted with a bright flotilla.