The Bell Tower

The Bell Tower (HMX7R)

Location: Victoria, BC V8W 1H9 Capital
Country: Canada
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N 48° 25.547', W 123° 22.112'

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Inscription
You are standing in Bastion Square. The Hudson's Bay Company, whose legacy continues at the store on Government Street, established Fort Victoria here in 1843.

Acting on behalf of the British Columbia Government, the company sold the surrounding land to pioneers but kept the area around here for itself.During The Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858, thousands of new settlers, including many immigrants, arrived in Victoria. The Hudson's Bay sold the Fort Victoria land to these new arrivals in irregular shaped parcels of property. This is why parts of Bastion Square are very narrow while others are much wider.A wooden bell tower was located at the centre of Fort Victoria one block south of here, at the corner of Langley Street and Fort Street. The bell rang to call the Hudson's Bay Company's employees to gather for meals, church services, weddings and funerals. It was also used to warn settlers of fires and other emergencies in the community.

The bell tower and the rest of Fort Victoria were torn down after the Gold Rush, but in the 1970s it inspired the design of a new tower in the same location that contained telecommunications equipment. This was built in the form of a brick campanile, a type of tower from Renaissance Italy.

Photo courtesy BC Archives.

Details
HM NumberHMX7R
Tags
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Monday, October 13th, 2014 at 10:02am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10U E 472736 N 5363691
Decimal Degrees48.42578333, -123.36853333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 48° 25.547', W 123° 22.112'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds48° 25' 32.82" N, 123° 22' 6.72" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)973, 201, 862
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 28-30 Bastion Square, Victoria BC V8W 1H9, CA
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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