Understand
Salt Spring Island was first called Saltspring one word Island by Governor James Douglas in 1853. He believed that the Salt Springs in the North of the Island would bring great wealth to the Island. It was also known by a few other names during the early years: Klaathem Cowichan Indian word for Salt, Chuam, Tuam, and Admiral Island. Saltspring was the official name as recorded by the Geographic Board of Canada in 1905. However, Canada Post and many locals used and still use the name Salt Spring 2 words Island . It is frequently abbreviated as SSI.
Salt Spring Island was first settled in 1859, primarily by farmers. In the early years it was settled by many different groups including a number of African-Americans and then a number of Hawaiians and settled on Salt Spring and a number of other gulf islands. In the 1960's and 1970's there was a large influx of back to the landers who lived either in informal communes or squatted. Many of these people have settledand have become a large part of the culture of Salt Spring. Since the 1970's Salt Spring has attracted a large number of artists, and has become more and more of a tourist destination and retirement spot for the wealthy. This dichotomy of large developments for the hordes of people who want to get away from the development of the city has created a certain amount of conflict. However the island is still primarily characterized by the artists and farmers.
