SHAWNIGAN SCHOOLS
1893 – The first Shawnigan School, originally called Malahat School, was built on the site of the present day Catholic Church on the Cobble Hill Road. It was renamed Shawnigan School in 1914. Children from around, and down the lake and as far as the end of Sylvester Road rowed, walked or rode (horse) to this school.
1912 – A private school for girls was established ¼ mile east of the Village. The school moved to two buildings that were eventually bought by Mr. Lonsdale who was, at that time, the manager of the Strathcona Lodge Hotel.
1916 - Mr Lonsdale founded the Shawnigan Lake School on the site. This school opened with six students, four boys and two girls. One of the girls was Frances Margaret Oldham, later known as Dr. Frances Kelsey. The local high school has been named in her honour.
1927 – Strathcona Lodge School for girls opened in the old Hotel with 25 students in grades 8-12. Alice Gibson, the historian, who wrote the local history of Shawnigan Lake, “Green Leaves and Fallen Branches”, was one of the first pupils at the school.
1959 – Cliffside preparatory School opened on the site of the current Easter Seal Camp on land that was previously owned by Judge Hunter. A significant landmark on this property is a concrete lion that was made early in the 20th century by George S Gibson, well known architectural carver. To this day the lion still guards the property on the waters edge. The lion was adopted as the symbol for the school crest.
HOTELS
1885 – Morton House was built by James Morton as hunting and fishing lodge in anticipation of the E & N railway.
1891 – Mr. and Mrs. Koenig bought Morton House. They remodelled it in 1897 but it burned down in 1902. They replaced it with The Shawnigan Lake Hotel, which included a store and post office. Prior to 1914, the Rail station in Shawnigan was called Koenig Station. When the first world war seemed imminent the Koenig’s changed their names to Kingsley (many Germans in the area did the same). Mrs. Kingsley sold the hotel in 1912 and, in 1916, it burned down again. It was never replaced.
1900 – The Strathcona Hotel was built at a cost of $15 000 overlooking the lake in a spot called Gilesville. The original owners were given a 99 year lease. It was set to open in mid May but burned to the ground on May 15th. Rebuilding started immediately and the hotel officially opened on September 19, 1900. The old building which had lived through a few incarnations was eventually bulldozed in the mid 1970’s.
1916 (approx) A third hotel known as Savira Lodge operated as a hunting and fishing lodge on the West Side of the lake opposite “10 Acre” or “Long” Island. During its heyday, a launch named Savira stopped at the village every day for mail and supplies. The lodge did not have electricity or water and there was no road access at the time. The Lodge was well known for its excellent cuisine.
1926 – The Forest Inn opened and guests were housed in the old Armstrong house. In 1939 the Inn became the Shawnigan Beach Hotel and, in 1967, became the Shawnigan Inn. Currently, there is little evidence of the original quaint Inns or Hotels as a large condominium complex, The Shawnigan Beach Resort, fills the land.
STORES
1911 – Mill Store operated until 1935 for the benefit of the loggers, mill workers and their families.
1913 – Mrs Kingsley built a large house with a store and post office downstairs.
1917 - Pen Y Wern Store opened in the village.
1920 - Cliffside Store operated as store and post office until 1962. It was located first up near the tracks at Cliffside and then relocated to the southwest corner of East Shawnigan Lake Road and Cliffside Road.
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