Ocean Falls is a community on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Formerly a large company town owned by Crown Zellerbach, it is accessible only via boat or seaplane, and is home for a few dozen full-time residents, with the seasonal population upwards of 100.

Geography and environment

thumbnail|An uncharacteristically sunny day in Ocean Falls

Ocean Falls is noted for its abundance of rain - about annually, and its residents are sometimes referred to as the "Rain People". Situated around a waterfall from Link Lake straight into Cousins Inlet.

History

The Heiltsuk native speaking people and the Nuxalk native speaking people inhabited the coastal region surrounding Ocean Falls for more than 9,000 years. In 1903, the Bella Coola Pulp and Paper Company surveyed the area and was impressed with the hydro power potential of the site. In 1906, following the company's acquisition of of land, clearing began for the town and three years later, a sawmill, hospital and school were established. In 1912, the dam was erected and the pulp mill began operating. The Ocean Falls pulp and paper mill was the largest mill in British Columbia for many years. The mill produced mechanical, sulfite and sulphate pulp processed on two newsprint machines, two kraft paper machines and one tissue machine. Much of the electrical power for the mill and town was produced by four hydro turbines.

Ocean Falls' population numbered 250 in 1912 and grew to 3,500 by 1950. By 1970, the number of inhabitants had dropped to 1,500. Only about 70 people, mostly loggers, remained by 1990.

The profit structure of the original investment changed considerably during the mill's many years of operation. Low labour costs, inexpensive hydro power and low infrastructure costs made the Ocean Falls mill a viable proposition. Nevertheless, the remote location, rising labour costs and the high cost of operating a town site made further investment unattractive. The Ocean Falls pulp and paper mill was a very large and complex production facility and modernization costs were prohibitive.

By the early 1970s, the facility was inefficient and uneconomical. The owner at that time, Crown Zellerbach, decided to close the plant and effectively shut down the town by March 1973. The provincial government bought the town and mill at a minimal cost a few weeks before the planned closure and kept the mill operating until 1980. The Ocean Falls mill thus joined the ranks of other older, remote pulp and paper mills in British Columbia shut down during the latter part of the twentieth century.

Today, much of the town has been demolished, and many of the remaining buildings are in decay. Nevertheless, Ocean Falls maintains a residential community and a social network of former residents.

Several disasters have struck the town. A major apartment fire in 1950 killed eight, a mudslide in 1965 killed seven and the town's Charleson school burned down on the night between December 21 and 22, 1969. There are no power lines connecting the dam to the North American power grid, thus no opportunity to sell power to anywhere other than local communities.

Notable residents

  • John Horgan, former premier of British Columbia, worked at the Ocean Falls pulp mill as a university student
  • Ralph Hutton, silver medalist at the 1968 Olympics in swimming
  • Ian MacKenzie, former competition swimmer who represented Canada at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.
  • Jerrold Marsden, Caltech professor, was born here on August 17, 1942
  • Dick Pound, gold medalist at the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in swimming, and former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency, was resident during his youth
  • Olive Sturgess, former actress of television and film, born in Ocean Falls in 1933

Climate

References

  • Oceanfalls.org, with rich photographic material
  • Ocean Falls - a cruising destination along the BC Inside Passage
  • A brief history of Ocean Falls
  • Musimentary on Youtube by Tony Papa
  • Memories from Ocean Falls-Photographs, Anecdotes, Paper mill description
  • Ocean Falls - Home Of The Rain People
  • Ocean Falls in the 1930s and 1940s