HORSESHOE BAY

HORSESHOE BAY
Is a small village, about 25 kilometer east of Vancouver. Originally called Chai-Hai by the original settlers, it was made into a summer resort in 1909 by a land company. A number of summer resorts grew in 1914 when the Pacific Great Eastern Railway arrived in 1914. The Roedde Family, one of Horseshoe Bay’s first settlers, built a home here in the early 1900s and in 1931 Dan Sewell Sr., bought the Roedde residence and operated a marina as well as hotel. Since then, the community has become a major destination for sport fishing. Trolls’ restaurant famous for its fish ‘n’ chips was established in 1946 by co-founders; Joe and Dorothy Troll and as of 2008 is still in business. Black Ball Ferries (later BC Ferries), began car ferry service in 1951 to Gibsons and in 1953 to Nanaimo. In 1961, when BC Ferries took over the ferry service, it opened 2 new ferries to Bowen Island and Langdale on the Sunshine Coast replacing the one in Gibsons. Horseshoe Bay is named for its horseshoe-like shape in Howe Sound and is a part of the district of West Vancouver.

HORSESHOE BAY’S POPULATION: ABOUT 1,000