Portage Inlet History
The Kosampson people, whose descendents form part of the Esquimalt Nation, lived in a village on the east bank of the Gorge, near Portage Inlet. Shell middens near Tillicum bridge confirm the area has been used for over 4000 years.
The Craigflower schoolhouse was constructed on the Kosampson site in 1854, and still stands today as a museum. Some of the first farms in the Victoria region were situated around Portage Inlet. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Portage Inlet was a popular recreation and camping area for residents of Victoria. Boats, including First Nations canoes, sternwheelers, rowboats and canoes, plied the waters of Portage Inlet over the past 100 years.
As Victoria expanded, residential properties took over the woods and agricultural fields surrounding the Inlet. The shorelines were modified, with seawalls and wharves. As in the Gorge, sewage pollution became a problem, and swimming was eventually banned.
Portage Inlet Today
Recreational activities such as boating, jigging for herring and bird watching are still popular in Portage Inlet. The land surrounding the Inlet is now almost all residential.
© Image courtesy of John W. Herbert
