Quatsino means “close to the ocean” in the tongue of the local First Nations. Native people living in the Sound when the white men arrived had two main sites: Quatsino and Koprino. Koprino means "far from the ocean". It seems that the local mapmakers and surveyors were not listening well when they gave the native place names as the camp known to the natives as Koprino was named Quatsino and vice versa and so it remains till this day.
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Quatsino is one of the North Island's earliest settlements, it was first settled in the late 1800's by Norwegian settlers who arrived in Quatsino Sound aboard the Mischief, an old wooden steamship, and chose this sheltered area of outstanding natural beauty to settle. They were joined by Danish settlers who had attempted to start farms on Cape Scott but were soon discouraged by the isolation and weather. Many old homes in Quatsino were barged in from Cape Scott and other isolated bays and inlets north of here decades ago.

St. Olafs' Anglican Church, originally built in 1896 as the communities first school house, is a gentle 10 minute walk from the lodge and is well worth a visit. The church is one of the oldest buildings on Vancouver Island that is still in use today. Services are held twice a month, but not on Sundays. Unique weddings are held here occasionally. Located about 3kms “up the road” there is an old graveyard. Visitors strolling here get a stark reminder of the hardships of pioneer life when they study the grave markers. 

In the early to mid 1900's Quatsino was the hub of the sound with its own Government Wharf, four stores, a Post Office, hotels, sawmills, canneries, and a fueling station. The one room school burned down in 1934 but was re-built and was still in operation till 2008 attended by 10 children from grades k to 9. Now because of a lack of students in the community, the school has been turned into the community centre. Locals have developed a community garden there and raise organic vegetables. There is a small library that is used to host the community events. The hope is that if the grounds are kept in use, one day there will be enough children to reopen the school. Until then it waits.

For those history buffs there is a very small but thorough museum located right across from the government wharf. It is open daily in the summer from 1 - 2PM and donations are gratefully accepted. If you call ahead it is usually easy to arrange a private opening and a “tour guide”.