[1] Thousands of years ago, the warm dry summers, mild winters, fertile soil, and abundant sea life attracted First Nations, who called the area kw'umuxws (Kwakʼwala, the adopted language of the Kʼómoks, for plentiful).

The town is also home to a Royal Canadian Air Force base CFB Comox, an airport for military and commercial airline use and the Sea Cadet training facility HMCS Quadra.

The mild climate has attracted many retirees to the area in the 21st century, which has resulted in a high rate of growth and a sharp increase in the median age of residents.

[8] In 1579, Francis Drake, on his circumnavigation of the globe in the Golden Hind, found a good port somewhere along the northwest coast of North America and stayed for several months while restocking supplies and trading with the inhabitants of the area.

[10] In 1791, a Spanish expedition led by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano and Cayetano Valdés y Flores produced a crude chart of the Strait of Georgia and possibly visited Comox.

In 1857, Captain George Richards of HMS Plumper was tasked with undertaking a complete survey of the coastline of Vancouver Island, and was given authority to name local landmarks.

[6] That same year Governor Douglas issued a land and settlement proclamation for the Koumox Valley, intending to divert new settlers away from the Victoria area as well as from the newly discovered Cariboo gold fields.

[8] Rather than claiming lots on the relatively flat and untreed "prairies" along the east side of the Courtenay River like the other settlers, Robb and his son preempted 106 ha (262 acres) of steep and heavily forested land along the shore of the bay, with the idea of clearing the land, building a dock and then selling town lots for the village that would inevitably spring up at the site.

The Hudson's Bay Company and the British Admiralty promised the settlers that there would be regular mail service to the area via steamship, and Governor Douglas committed to building a road from Nanaimo.

[12] The rear-admiral listened to all sides of the argument, then commended Cave for his letter, advised that Robb's conduct should be investigated, and returned the Eucletaw to Cape Mudge.

A third area of four to five hectares (ten to twelve acres), Graveyard Indian Reserve #3 on the Goose Spit, was also allocated in recognition of the historic burial grounds there.

In 1868, Adam Grant Horne, the manager of the Hudson's Bay Company post, recommended that a lot be purchased from James Robb close to where a wharf would likely be built, but he was ignored by his superiors.

It was a one-room school for grades 1 to 8 [16] As the Hudson's Bay factor Adam Grant Horne had predicted a decade earlier, his trading post was too far away from the wharf to be profitable, and in 1878, it was closed.

[15] With the advent of the First World War I in 1914, many local men wished to join the Canadian Expeditionary Force but had to travel out of the Valley in order to enlist.

In response, the local 102nd Battalion was formed on November 5, 1915, drawing recruits from across northern British Columbia and eventually reaching a total strength of 3,863.

Their training camp was at the Goose Spit, and through one of the coldest and snowiest winters in memory, shelter and clothing proved to be totally inadequate.

That same year William Robb died, still the owner of unsold lots of as-yet undeveloped land, as the population of the tiny village still hovered around 200.

A newcomer to the area, Sidney "Dusty" d'Esterre, had already bought up Joseph Rodello's old Elk Hotel, and he now put together a consortium of local businessmen to buy up Robb's property.

[15] Whenever ships of the Royal Navy visited the area, they always lowered their flags as they passed his house, a mark of respect accorded to him because—according to local rumour—d'Esterre had been involved in secret service activities during the Great War.

[16] However, while Courtenay and Cumberland were booming with economic activity, Comox remained a sleepy village visited by rich tourists drawn by the sport fishing, golf and the newly opened ski resorts on Forbidden Plateau.

[21] Laing, who counted ornithologists Percy A. Taverner and Allan Brooks among his friends, would become an influential voice in the nascent conservation movement over the next 50 years, with hundreds of articles published in almost every birding and nature magazine in North America.

After four years of training, they took part in the Canadian D-Day assault on Juno Beach, and ended the day more than 10 km (6.2 mi) inland, the furthest advance of any Allied unit.

The following year, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) took over operations, and in addition to patrols over the Pacific, also used the base to train transport aircraft crews flying the Douglas Dakota.

[16] The Comox Valley Airport continues to be a joint use military-civilian airfield with scheduled passenger airline flights primarily to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton as well as to other regional destinations in British Columbia.

Shortly afterwards, James Robb's 90-year-old pier at the end of Wharf Road was demolished, and landfill was used to create a sheltering seawall for fishing vessels, as well as a marina for recreational craft.

The result was the Mack Laing Nature Park, with a trail that runs from the last untouched section of the Great Comox Midden up through 3 ha (7.4 acres) of second-growth forest.

[15] By the turn of the 21st century, although Comox Valley contained half of the agricultural land on Vancouver Island, jobs were moving away from other resource-based industries such as fishing and logging.

The largest employers were now CFB 19 Wing Comox, the local school board, Mount Washington Alpine Resort and St. Joseph Hospital.

[8] Daily commercial jet service helped expand tourism and business opportunities in the town, and Comox's population, which had remained stagnant since the 1970s, increased by 6.5% from 2001 to 2006.

The Filberg Festival, named for the park in which it is held, is an arts and crafts fair that takes place each summer on the BC Day long weekend.