Hub City

This is the second volume in Jan Peterson's trilogy on the history of Nanaimo. Once again she brings to life the people and the events that have shaped this ever-evolving community by tracing its development from the arrival of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway to the end of the First World War. Until the turn of the twentieth century, Nanaimo had been a coal-mining community, but as transportation by sea, rail, and road improved, the city became an important distribution centre and link between other developing parts of Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. In this volume, Peterson's subject matter includes: The city's new multicultural face; The beginnings of the labour movement; The adventurous young men who founded clubs and developed parks; The establishment of the pacific biological station at departure bay; The sale of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo railway to the canadian pacific railway; The sale of the Dunsmuir coal interests; The Spanish influenza epidemic.