The mine is of great historical interest because it was established by the Hudson‟s Bay Co. in 1851 and is by far the first mine in British Columbia.
It was active in the mid-1800's, for a period of 4 or 5 years, and then reworked in the 1920's. Suquash gets its name from Tsuquash, a native word meaning "where the seals lay". The first steam ships operating in these coastal waters used coal from the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii). However, local native peoples knew of this soft, black stone and led the first Europeans here. A settlement was established here to mine the coal. The chimneys and verandah posts remain from the administrators grand house. Once higher grade coal was discovered further down-Island, Suquash's lower-grade coal was no longer in demand. This was the site of the first labour strike in B.C.
