{{Short description|River in British Columbia, Canada}} {{Use Canadian English|date=February 2026}} The '''Bedwell River''' is in the Clayoquot Sound region on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The river flows into Bedwell Sound, which lies northeast of Meares Island and Tofino.
==Name origin== Formerly named the '''Bear River''' by Captain Richards, the official rename evidenced the Bedwell Sound connection. However, the previous name remains in use locally.<ref name=BCG>{{BCGNIS|3310|Bedwell River (river)}}</ref> The 1913 announcement that the name would change to Denbigh River, in honour of Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh, chair of the Ptarmigan Mine on Big Interior Mountain, proved premature.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist55y245uvic/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater&q=denbigh | page=7 | title=Daily Colonist, 26 Sep 1913 | website=www.archive.org}}</ref> Instead, Bedwell River was officially adopted federally months later,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist56y36uvic/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater&q=bear | page=10 | title=Daily Colonist, 23 Jan 1914 | website=www.archive.org| year=1914 }}</ref> but a decade later provincially.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist0323uvic_28/page/n2/mode/1up?view=theater&q=bedwell | page=3 | title=Daily Colonist, 3 Apr 1923 | website=www.archive.org}}</ref>
==First Nations== The indigenous name in the Nuu-chah-nulth language is '''Oinimitis''', which is the namesake of the Oinimitis Trail.<ref name="BCG" /> Oinimitis Indian Reserve No. 4 is near the mouth of the river.
==Mining== When prospectors discovered gold in 1865, placer mining quickly swamped the valley.<ref name=BIM>{{Cite web | url=https://www.beyondnootka.com/articles/big_interior.html | title=Big Interior Mountain: The Mountain and the Miners | website=www.beyondnootka.com}}</ref> However, the numerous large boulders made most workings unprofitable.<ref name=GhoTo>{{cite book|last1=Paterson |first1=T.W. | last2=Basque |first2=G. |page=91 |title=Ghost Towns & Mining Camps of Vancouver Island |publisher=Sunfire Publications |year=1999|isbn=1-895811-80-5}}</ref> Indignant at being duped, the hordes departed within weeks,<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist18650823uvic/page/n1/mode/2up?view=theater&q=delusion | page=2 | title=Daily Colonist, 23 Aug 1865 | website=www.archive.org| year=1865 }}</ref> leaving mainly Chinese miners, who maintained the constructed trail until the mid-1880s. Apparently, the sudden death of one of their number at that time created superstitious fears causing the final 15 to collectively leave.<ref name="BIM" />
In 1899, the townsite of Port Hughes was laid out at the river mouth, being the headquarters for 60 mines in the region. That year, a 14-room hotel was erected.<ref name="GhoTo" /> Moses McGregor was the inaugural and final postmaster 1900–1901.<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/postal-heritage-philately/post-offices-postmasters/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=28903&| title=Postmaster|website=www.bac-lac.gc.ca}}</ref> The settlement was named after Capt. Hughes, who was master of a coastal steamboat. The residents soon left and the hotel closed. The location was uninhabited when the Ptarmigan Mine established a camp at the river mouth in 1913.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist0923uvic_1/page/n19/mode/1up?view=theater&q=hughes | page=20 | title=Daily Colonist, 2 Sep 1923 | website=www.archive.org| year=1923 }}</ref>
Where the valley forks in the upper reaches of the river, You Creek forms the right branch. Prospector Joe Drinkwater was the first to explore the creek, a later access route to several mining claims.<ref name="BIM" />
==See also== *List of rivers of British Columbia
==References== {{reflist}}
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Category:Rivers of Vancouver Island Category:Clayoquot Sound region
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