Description of Historic Place

The Mesachie Lake Hall is a utilitarian, one-storey wood-frame building located on a large recreational park directly off the main road, at 9315 South Shore Road, in the rural town of Mesachie Lake, British Columbia. This hall consists of a hipped-roof elevated entryway, a large rectangular main section topped with a Dutch Gable roof and a smaller rectangular side section topped with a steep mono-pitched roof. At the back of the hall is a much smaller square section with a hipped-roof. This historic place includes the building and surrounding grounds.

Heritage Value

The Mesachie Lake Hall has historic and social value because of its continuous use as a community meeting place. There is also historic value in the hall's association with the early development of the Mesachie Lake community and for representing the early settlement patterns in the Cowichan Lake area. Finally, there is historic value in Mesachie Lake Hall's connection to the Hillcrest Logging Company and their approach to developing a logging community.

Built in 1947 by the Hillcrest Logging Company, the Mesachie Lake Hall illustrates the relationship between early logging companies and their workers. The communities surrounding Cowichan Lake were all built by logging companies and many of the early buildings still exist today. The Hillcrest Logging Company built the Mesachie Lake Hall as a central place of social and recreational activities for its workers and their families. Since its construction, the Hall has remained a central landmark for the development of the community of Mesachie Lake.

Opened in 1948, the Mesachie Lake Hall has been in continuous use for over sixty years as a meeting place, service provider and recreation site where locals can interact and socialize. During the early years of the hall, it contained a general store and provided goods to local community members. Currently, the hall has a post office and provides a central communication system to the community. The grounds surrounding the Mesachie Lake Hall include a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and a playground. Since the early days of the community, these grounds have continued to provide a form of recreation to the community.

The community of Mesachie Lake was developed because of the resources provided by the Hillcrest Logging Company. The Mesachie Lake Hall is one resource that has continuously contributed to the Mesachie Lake community, allowing it to flourish after the closure of the mill. This association between the hall and the long-term development of the community has significant heritage value.

The Mesachie Lake Hall is representative of the settlement patterns common in the Cowichan Lake area. As Cowichan Lake was developed by logging companies, the communities grew around the original mill locations and near lake shores. The location of the Mesachie Lake Hall is evidence of these settlement patterns.

Source: Cowichan Valley Regional District, Planning and Development Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Mesachie Lake Hall include its:
- Continuous use as a community meeting place and recreational location
- Original location off South Shore Road in Mesachie Lake in a central area of the community
- Clear visibility of hall from South Shore Road in Mesachie Lake and open surrounding grounds
- interior elements of the building related to its use as a social centre, including its stage, open character of the main interior space, and high ceilings
- simple massing, horizontal siding, main Dutch Gable roof, mono-pitched roof, and hipped-roof
- hipped-roof entry vestibule