Cumberland Museum & Archives — Attraction in Cumberland

We enjoyed seeing the immigration throughout the eras, but were disappointed to see that some of the exhibits we liked, such as the iron lung, telephone switchboard, survey charts of underground veins, and the glass cabinet with Chinese clothing, had disappeared. Instead, we saw endless white hallways with long written descriptions. There are three types of museum visitors: ones who read everything, ones who look at pictures and objects, and ones who only want highly interactive exhibits. Please bring back walls with colour, short descriptions beside photos or objects, and interactivity that is not just hitting a button to start a video. Please make the interviews in the coal mine louder, and return to the original chart of people killed in the mines. In the Chinatown video, please try to overlap the original with today's views. This museum is a treasure - please bring back some of the original character that brought us there years...

This review is for the town of Cumberland.

Of the three Cs, (Courtenay, Comox and Cumberland) Cumberland is the smallest of the trio. Like Hope, it reminds me of a mountain town (Jasper or Banff), but since it's not in a National Park, it has a very different vibe. You half expect to see mountains in the distance at the end of Dunsmuir Avenue but, since you don't, you get a special feeling.

Dunsmuir Avenue is a delight. Wonderful old buildings. Great shops.

What I especially like is all the handbills stapled to the wooden poles along the street. Like Edmonton in the sixties when we still had these. Great reading. Says a lot about a place.

Oh . . . the...

The rainforests and the vagaries of business cycles have covered much of the history of Cumberland and the nearby Coal Creek (Cumberland Chinatown). The Cumberland Museum & Archives brings this rich history back to life with vibrant and engaging exhibits that don't shy from telling uncomfortable truths. From the treatment of early Chinese settlers ("A Place At the Table") to mining conditions in the 1800s to early aboriginal engagement, the museum doesn't hold back. Yet despite all they endured, the happiness and pride of these vibrant and tenacious people shine through. This museum tells their stories...