viHistory
This web site is a teaching, learning and research tool. Our web site is principally about the history of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, but it is also a vehicle for exploring the larger field of Canadian history during the late 19th and early part of the 20th century.
On this site, you can search over 100,000 nominal census records of Vancouver Island
residents, native and non-native, for the period 1871 to 1901. You can also search directories
for the cities of Nanaimo and Victoria, and property tax assessment rolls for
the same period. Directories provide the names and street addresses of business owners, employees,
and householders; tax assessment rolls show the names of property owners and provide information
on the location, size and value of city parcels.
These records — along with the maps, lithographs, fire insurance plans and other historical documents posted here — offer a remarkably detailed picture of society in this part of Canada in the Victorian era.
Take a moment to find
out how this web site works,
or browse through the
site help, before
you begin to search the viHistory database.
The viHistory web site is edited by
Dr. Patrick A. Dunae. The viHistory Project is a joint venture
by Vancouver Island University
and the University of
Victoria .