People uprooted from Kleecoot (17)

Kleecoot, a Nuu-chah-nulth word meaning wide open or fork in the river, was originally the site of a Nuu-chah-nulth village. A logging camp was established by non-Indigenous settlers in 1860. In 1864, the lake was renamed Sproat Lake, but local mill employees continued to use Kleecoot as the address for the company bunkhouses. In 1926 the Sproat Lake Lumber Company opened and became the primary employer of Japanese Canadians in the area. The Sproat Lake Lumber Company went bankrupt in 1930, then reopened as Sproat Lake Sawmills which closed temporarily between 1931–1933, and operated until 1950.