Millstream Creek is a salmon-bearing stream that drains a 6,424-acre (2,600 ha) watershed of lakes and wetlands over 8 miles (12.5 km) before entering a tidal estuary in Esquimalt Harbour, about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) northwest of Victoria and 1.8 miles (3 km) east of Langford, British Columbia. Originally known as Rowe Stream, after early settler Thomas Rowe, it was renamed for the sawmill built on its banks to supply lumber for a new Hudson’s Bay Company fort and trading post at Victoria Harbour.

In 1843 James Douglas chose Victoria Harbour as the site for the new fort, whose initial construction relied on lumber rough-sawn by hand. Douglas charged Roderick Finlayson with finding a site for a proper sawmill, and after some exploration Millstream Creek, which fed Esquimalt Harbour, was selected. The mill was completed in September 1848, and by November enough water was flowing to cut the first lumber. Its flow proved too weak to run the mill year-round, however, and nearby Thetis Lake, though considered as an additional water source, was too far off to divert into the creek. In 1853 the Millstream mill was replaced by a saw and flour mill at the company’s Craigflower Farm, driven by a seven-horsepower steam engine imported from Scotland.

Today Millstream Creek is bordered by private property, and the land-care practices of those owners largely determine the health of the watershed ecosystem. The creek provides habitat and a wildlife corridor linking Gowlland-Tod Park to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, supporting the movement of animals and the propagation of native plants. Its associated wetlands also reduce stormwater flows and improve water quality. Read more here and here. Explore more of Millstream Creek and Esquimalt Harbour here: