Malahat Logging

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Malahat Logging
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Bear Creek Trestle Bridge 1939 photo

Bear Creek Trestle 1939
In the mid-1930's, the San Juan Valley attracted another large scale logging operation. Obtaining timber licenses in the upper reaches of the valley, the Malahat Logging Company built a railway line from their beach camp, extending 22 km/13.6 miles to beyond the Bear Creek Valley. The line followed much the same route as the Red Creek Main Line.

Beach Camp, one of two camps built by them, was located where the present Port Renfrew townsite is today. At the time, the camp had a large shop, a rail line rightaway, an office, a cookhouse, a few homes and bunkhouses for the boommen and railway crews. The second camp, located on the west side of Bear Creek housed the fallers, donkey punchers, high riggers, hooktenders and chokermen, the men who worked to get the timber out of the woods. This camp was built in 1938-39 when construction was started on the Bear Creek Bridge. Standing 242 feet high and spanning 517 feet across, the bridge was, in those days, the highest wooden trestle in the world.

At this time, the train logging operations on the north side of the valley were taken over by Matt Hemmingsen. He was pushing the railroad further, up into the Harris Creek drainage and later began building the upper Harris Creek Camp. The camp was completed in 1946 when a large company, the newly-formed BC Forest Products, bought out most of the area's timber rights, both railway systems in the valley and camps. They completed the upper Harris Creek camp and utilized Beach and Bear Creek camps.

In the 1950's, on examination of railway costs and accessible timber to the line, BC Forest Products began to integrate truck logging with the railway, but, but by 1957, railway logging was eliminated. Similar concerns were given to the upper Harris Creek, Camp and Bear Creek Camp, and so between 1957 and 1963, these two camps were closed and their houses were moved down to Beach Camp. Upon completion of this newly-designed camp, nearly 100 homes were in place. Soon electricity was brought in with the new road from Victoria and the industrial activities were moved out and relocated to where the Port Renfrew Marina sits today.