built in 1913. The E&N Railway reached Qualicum in 1914. H.E. Beasley, a railway official, sponsored the creation of The Merchants Trust and Trading Company which organised the original layout of the town and built the golf links and the Qualicum Beach Hotel in 1913. The Qualicum Beach Hotel was managed by Noel Money. During World War 1 the hotel was used as a hospital, which was visited by the Prince of Wales in 1918. Visitors to the hotel included Shirley Temple, Bing Crosby, and the King of Thailand. The hotel was eventually torn down in 1969. The golf course (Memorial Golf Course) remains and is preserved by the Town of Qualicum Beach. In 1914, the residence of Noel Money, the Crown Mansion, was built. The Crown Mansion overlooks the town's first golf course, the Memorial Golf Course, and is built in a Georgian Revival style. The Crown Mansion is now protected by the Brown Preservation Society and operates as a hotel. In the 1930s, Alexander Duncan McRae and his wife Blaunche built an upscale family retreat, known as Eaglecrest, in Qualicum Beach. Visitors included Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh in 1951. In the late 1960s, Eaglecrest was converted into a resort. A fire in 1969 burnt down the main house. In 1972, the new owners replicated the original house and opened a golf course. In 1981 a fire once again destroyed Eaglecrest. A private boys' residential school, the Qualicum College, was established in 1935 by Robert Ivan Knight. The school grew through the 1960s, however, attendance diminished with the school closing in 1970. The structure was operated as a hotel for a number of years, however, the college has now been demolished. Its playing fields have been turned into a housing subdivision. St. Andrews Lodge, a hotel built in a Tudor style, was built in 1938 by Sam Little. The Lodge was especially popular during World War 2 with members of the Canadian armed forces. Qualicum Beach was officially incorporated as a village on May 5, 1942, and was changed to town status on January 7, 1983. The 21st Century In 2002, the town's primary grocery store, Qualicum Foods, was destroyed by a fire. In 2003 a new Qualicum Foods was built. In 2021, Qualicum Beach councillor Teunis Westbroek was sued for allegedly suggesting that the owners of Qualicum Foods burnt down their own store in 2002.