Mount Douglas (Greater Victoria)
Encyclopedia
Saanich, British Columbia
The District of Saanich is a municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is located north of the provincial capital, Victoria. It has a population of 108,265 people, making it the most populous municipality on Vancouver Island, and the seventh most populous in the province...
. It is named for the second governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...
, Sir James Douglas
James Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
, and is affectionately known locally as "Mount Doug." The hill and the surrounding area are protected by a 182 ha (450 acre) municipal park. It also lends its name to a high school, road, neighbourhood, and several businesses. Its many trails, mature second growth forest, striking vistas of the city, and nearby beach make the area a popular destination.
Originally called Cedar Hill
Cedar Hill (Greater Victoria)
Cedar Hill, also referred to locally as Quadra Cedar Hill, is a neighbourhood in the Greater Victoria municipality of Saanich. Like all neighbourhoods in the region, the boundaries are fluid, but generally speaking is bounded to the north by McKenzie Avenue, to the west by Quadra and Cook Streets,...
, it was home to logging operations in the mid-nineteenth century. Local mills supplied the growing city of Victoria, including the original Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
fort, transporting lumber south along present day Cedar Hill Road. It was brought under protected status in 1889. Although informally renamed in Douglas' lifetime (it was given the apellation "Mount" in order to honour the governor's status), the name "Mt. Douglas" was not officially adopted until 1910.
The neighbourhood
The namesake neighbourhood around the base of Mt. Douglas is a mix of residential neighbourhoods, hobby farmHobby farm
A hobby farm is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are merely to provide some recreational land, and perhaps a few horses for the family's children...
s and working farms, roughly bounded by Shelbourne Street, Cordova Bay Road, the Blenkinsop Valley and Mckenzie Avenue. The farms of the Blenkinsop Valley are protected by the provincial Agricultural Land Reserve
Agricultural Land Reserve
The Agricultural Land Reserve is a collection of land in the Canadian province of British Columbia in which agriculture is recognized as the priority use. Farming is encouraged and non-agricultural uses are controlled. In total, the ALR covers approximately and includes private and public lands...
.