キャンベル・リバーから追放された (7)

Campbell River was occupied by the Laich-kwil-tach (Ligʷiłdaxʷ) First Nation in the early 1800s. Non-Indigenous settlers were drawn to the area in the late 1800s for its logging potential, and an abundance of salmon in the nearby waters soon drew fishermen as well. Construction of the Willows Hotel in 1904 is said to mark the establishment of the town, although Campbell River wasn't officially incorporated until 1947. Until a connecting road to Courtenay was built in 1920, most travel to Campbell River was by boat.

In the 1920s, several railway logging operations were established in the Campbell River area, including Bloedel, Stewart & Welch (BS&W) and Comox Logging. Logging camps were mobile and frequently relocated, resulting in numbered camp names. Japanese Canadians worked in the logging industry, as fisherman, and in the town of Campbell River. Shigekazu Matsunaga of Quathiaski Cove (on nearby Quadra Island) owned a fishing boat called the Soyokaze. A Japanese Canadian named Elmer worked as a gardener at the Willows Hotel, and the Shinmoto family was running a laundry in the building next door by the late 1920s.