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Know Duncan

Duncan is a fantastic, vibrant community in the heart of the Cowichan Valley. We’ll be providing you with lots of useful information about Duncan’s history and more very soon.

The community is named after William Chalmers Duncan (born 1836 in Sarnia, Ontario). He arrived in Victoria in May 1862, then in August of that year he was one of the party of a hundred settlers which Governor Douglas took to Cowichan Bay. After going off on several gold rushes, Duncan settled close to the present city of Duncan. He married in 1876, and his son Kenneth became the first mayor of Duncan. A street bears his name today.

Duncan’s farm was named Alderlea, and this was the first name of the adjacent settlement. In August 1886, the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway was opened. No stop had been scheduled at Alderlea for the inaugural train bearing Sir John A. Macdonald and Robert Dunsmuir. However, at Duncan’s Crossing, the level crossing nearest Alderlea, a crowd of 2,000 had assembled around a decorated arch and the train came to an unplanned halt, quite literally putting it on the map.

In the early 1900s, Duncan’s Chinatown was the social centre for the Cowichan Valley’s Chinese population. Chinatown was concentrated in a single block in the southwestern corner of Duncan. At its largest point, Duncan’s Chinatown included six Chinese families and 30 merchants supplying loggers, millworkers and cannery and mine workers. As immigration laws became more restrictive, businesses closed and the buildings became run down. The city tore the buildings down in 1969 to build a new law courts complex. Some materials from the original buildings was used at Whippletree Junction.

Above material is taken from Wikipedia.

Charles and Trevor Hoey, ca. 1940
1994.11.2.2

Charles Ferguson Hoey was born in Duncan on March 31, 1914. He received his early education at Queen Margaret’s School, Duncan Grammar School and Duncan High School. He joined the 62nd Field Battery, Duncan and in 1933 enlisted in the Royal West Kent Regiment. Charles graduated from the Royal Military Collect, Sandhurst, England and served in the Lincolnshire Regiment where he was quickly promoted to Captain. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1943 for “gallant and distinguished service in Burma”, after which he was promoted to Major.

Charles Hoey was killed in action on February 17, 1944 at Arakan, Burma and received the Victoria Cross (posthumously), the only person from the Cowichan Valley to have the honour. The park adjacent to the Duncan Train Station was dedicated to the memory of Major Charles F. Hoey, VC.

Trevor Hoey was born in 1916, and like his older brother, fought in WWII. He was tragically killed on July 21, 1944.

Note: Charles Hoey on left of picture and Trevor Hoey on right.

For more information on Charles Hoey and Duncan’s history visit the
Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives
www.cowichanvalleymuseum.bc.ca
Summer hours Monday to Saturday
10am to 4pm

The Caboose

CN Caboose #79124 began her life in 1917, and was built for the Canadian Northern Railway (a predecessor of the CNR). Retired in 1982, she was one of the last wooden cabooses in Canada. With a length of 37’2”, and weight of approximately 23 tons, #79124 would have originally been outfitted with a pot bellied stove and an ice box. It was quite a rough and noisy ride while being pulled along behind a steam train at speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.

The post war period was a very busy time for Vancouver Island railway operations. After an extensive refit in 1953, #79124 was used on freight trains between Victoria and Youbou over the former Cowichan Subdivision, and also log and lumber trains between Youbou and Cowichan Bay.

By the late 70’s, truck logging was predominant and Canadian National only required one caboose on this line. In 1982, #79124 was declared surplus and acquired by the City of Duncan to be placed at the Train Station where it remains to this day.

A full restoration of the exterior of #79124 was begun in 2008. Every effort has been made to depict this caboose as it would have been during the zenith of her career running the rails of the Cowichan Valley. Historically correct colors and markings were researched, and original plans have been used as a guide in ensuring authenticity. One of only a handful of restored wooden cabooses remaining in Canada today, #79124 is once again a proud example of an era which helped define our Country.