Long before the yachts, sailboats and kayaking tourists, Refuge Cove had a fascinating history as the social hub of life in Desolation Sound. First settled in 1913, the cove quickly became a popular settlement and a school opened a year later, followed by the first incarnation of the current store and post office five years after that.
Settlers would sell their excess fruits and vegetables through the store, and on Saturday nights people from miles around would converge on the dance hall through the 1920s and 1930s to dance and socialize. In the 1950s, the Cove had a population of 40 to 50 people living on boats, floathouses and cottages on the shore. Lewis Channel was the safest passage for most marine traffic north and south, and the Refuge Cove store was an important stop-over on this route. However, with the dynamiting of ‘Ripple Rock’ outside Campbell River in the largest man-made non-nuclear explosion in history in 1958, vessels preferred the route closer to Vancouver Island and most of the traffic ceased.
By 1971, the year-round population of Refuge Cove had slumped to just six.
In 1968 the store burned down, and the owners reopened by dragging an 87-foot barge docked at the wharf onto land. With big changes happening on the coast concerning shipping routes and larger tugs requiring less fuel stops, business was slow, and the Refuge Cove Land and Housing Co-operative was formed and bought the store and the land and runs the store to this day.
