Jingle Pot Road, Nanaimo: how it got its name

 
Nanaimo Stories: How Did Jingle Pot Road Get Its Name?
 

When I first moved to Nanaimo, the name Jingle Pot Road intrigued me as a most unusual name for a street. I was so curious that I decided to do some digging to learn about the history behind the naming of this road.

My research took me to book called A Place in Time: Nanaimo Stories by Jan Peterson, a local author and historian. I learned that the East Wellington Mine was located in the area around the 1890s. When cars of coal were brought to the bottom of the shaft, the man in charge pulled on a long rope tied to a pot at the top of shaft. The pot was filled with stones, which caused it to jingle. The sound from the “jingle pot” was signal for the winch operator to start hoisting.

(Hat tip.)