 Fulford Harbour, Salt Spring Island, Tourism BC/Adrian Dorst photo
Culture & Lifestyle From the outset, Salt Spring has attracted rugged individualists and free spirits who have carved out a homespun lifestyle far removed from the mainstream society. Independent entrepreneurs, artists, organic farmers, B&B operators, restaurateurs, musicians and trades people thrive on an island lacking any major manufacturing or industrial employers. To get the real flavor of island life today, hang out in the local coffee shops, attend a concert at one of the community halls or chat up the friendly vendors at the Market in the Park on summer Saturdays.
History The quaint Salt Spring Island Museum is on the grounds of the Farmer's Institute (351 Rainbow Road). The Visitor Centre can help arrange tours by appointment. The Heritage of Salt Spring Island, an annotated map highlighting heritage sites, roads, parks and trails, is sold at the Visitor Centre and Ganges bookstores. For a quick taste of the past, wander the "hall of history" at Mouat's Trading Co. in downtown Ganges. View photographs of community life a century ago, examine historic memorabilia (including a fragment of the H.M.S. Ganges itself) and discover that back in 1912 land was selling for $100 an acre – not bad for real estate that is now among the priciest in Canada.
Aboriginal History & Early Settlement Since at least 3,000 BCE, Coast Salish tribes resided on an island they variously called Klaathem (a Cowichan word meaning "salt") and Cuan (a Saanich word for "each end"), according to local author Charles Kahn's definitive Salt Spring: The Story of an Island. An epidemic had forced the resident First Nations' population off the island by the time Governor James Douglas allowed settlers onto aboriginal lands in 1859. Maps of the period identify the island as Saltspring (in reference to the sodium chloride found in the northend) and, for a brief period, Admiral Island. It is still officially known by the one-word spelling, through resident themselves generally prefer "Salt Spring." A pioneering settlement was Beggsville (now Fernwood). On the northeast coast, it was a foothold where hardy newcomers could begin clearing the thick forest that blanketed the island. Early settlers were mainly of European descent though a group of African American ex-slaves arrived from San Francisco and a community of Hawaiians also settled here. The gravestones at tiny St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church (on the Fulford-Ganges Road just before the Fulford Habour ferry dock) testify to this Big Island heritage. Steady Growth  Salt Spring's population had reached 500 by the turn of the 20th century. Capitalizing on the long growing seasons, farmers planted fruit trees and root vegetables, grew wheat and hay, and raised herds of cattle, sheep and pigs. Butter was produced at the Salt Spring Island Creamery, which opened in 1908 on the site of what is today the Embe Bakery in Ganges. Daily ferry service from Schwartz Bay on Vancouver Island began in 1929 under the command of Captain George Maude. He and his family resided in the frame house that still stands on the waterfront next to the Fulford Harbour dock. By the early 1960s, the population was just over 2,000. Improved ferry service via BC Ferries began to draw more full-time residents. Always a haven for outsiders, Salt Spring attracted more than its share of hippies, musicians, artists and US draft-dodgers. The Islands Trust, a provincial government body designed to preserve the natural character of the Gulf Islands, was created in 1974. While this land-use regulatory body generates strong pro and con opinions from islanders, it has managed to retain Salt Spring's rural character as the population continues to grow at a controlled pace.
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