Historic Whippletree Junction is located halfway between Victoria and Nanaimo, on the #1 Highway, 6 km. south of Duncan, the "City of Totems." A pleasant drive through picturesque land and seascape brings you to this collection of over 20 shops and restaurant. You may find just the gift or furnishing you were looking for here. This shopping center has individual shops which open at there own times
. Generally from 9am to 5pm Tuesday to Sunday's
Some shops are open on Mondays as well. So please do take time to come and explore what shops New and Old are onsite. Driving north, go off right at the Access Road or, if you missed it, just turn right at Bench Road (the next lights). Driving south turn left at the lights at Bench Road. Whippletree Junction is the creation of Randy Streit (1937-2001). In 1968 he started taking buildings which were destined to be demolished and moving them here to their present location. The Wickertree was the first building and it came from Duncan's old Chinatown. Wagon Wheel Antiques was a fish cannery in Sooke. Black Coffee and other Delights was a post office and bank in Cobble Hill. The fountain in the courtyard is called the Trickletree. Made from old sawmill and car parts scrounged by Randy it was another of his unique projects. He collected gasoline memorabilia and White Rose was one of his favourites so you will see those signs scattered about the centre along with other gasoline station signs from bygone eras. In the early 1970's Randy Streit stumbled upon a bar in the St. Francis Saloon in Butte, Montana, a totally deserted ghost town. He fell in love with it and brought the bar home. He realized he did not have a place to house the bar so he sold a plot of land to Paul Watson and attached a promissory note which required the buyer to build a structure to showcase the bar. Thus the plans for the Pioneer House Restaurant came to life.(which sadly closed in 2019)
All the other buildings at Whippletree were constructed of salvaged storefronts and historic buildings, including Chinatown in Duncan, the old Post Office/Bakery from Cobble Hill, giving this shopping centre its own unique magic. Don't forget to check out the courtyard! In 1999 it was repaved. It is interesting to note that the first layer of bricks came from the old Bamberton cement works. Whippletree Junction's name was derived from the horse and buggy era when a whippletree was an important harness part to hitch up a horse and wagon.
