 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Woss | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Woss | |
  Woss Location of Woss in British Columbia  Woss Woss (British Columbia) | |
| Coordinates: 50°12′41″N 126°35′55″W / 50.2114°N 126.5987°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| Regional District | Mount Waddington RD |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.48 km2 (0.57 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 189 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) |
Woss, also commonly known as Woss Lake after the nearby lake of the same name, is a small village in the Nimpkish Valley, located 75 km (47 mi) southeast of Port McNeill and 128 km (80 mi) north of Campbell River on Highway 19, in northeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The estimated population of Woss and the Nimpkish Valley is 200. The town of Woss lies about 3 km north of Woss Lake, a long, narrow lake stretching about 10 km in a primarily north–south direction with a maximum width of about one km, the southern portion of which is part of Woss Lake Provincial Park.
Woss is a member municipality of the Regional District of Mount Waddington, which also includes Alert Bay, Port Alice, Port McNeill, Hyde Creek, Coal Harbour, Holberg, Malcolm Island, Quatsino and Port Hardy. Woss has regular telephone service, and acquired cellular phone services in early 2016. Woss had one elementary school for many years, that was closed up after its 2015–2016 school year.
Until the mid-1960s, Woss was accessible only by rail from Beaver Cove on the Englewood Railway. During this time, most of the loggers were housed in bunkhouses heated with wood-fired steam. One of the original steam powered locomotives is currently used as a working tourist attraction. Nearby Woss Lake is the main summer recreational playground for Woss residents and the original community campground at the lake is now Woss Lake Provincial Park.
Tage Wickstrom, the school principal until his death in 1986, built the only 440 dirt oval track and field on the north island at his school in Woss. For many years Woss Lake School hosted all of the track and field competitions for School District #85 which included communities from Woss to Port Hardy. The track and field are now known as the "Tage Wickstrom Track and Field" in honour of the educator who built them.
- ^ a b Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 8, 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Woss, Unincorporated place [Designated place], British Columbia and British Columbia [Province]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved September 17, 2020.