From the bustling streets of Vancouver to the rugged interior, British Columbia captivates visitors with its cosmopolitan charm, natural beauty and inspiring human history. As you explore the province, use this guide to help discover a history as powerful as the ocean waves that lash the province’s west coast—ancient Aboriginal cultures, explorers and entrepreneurs who came to exploit its natural resources, the wealthy colonists who carved grand estates out of a vast wilderness. It is also a history of ordinary people from across the country and from around the world who came to British Columbia to find to gold, to settle the land, to work its industries, to make a life and build a province.

All of the National and Provincial Historic Sites of British Columbia described in this guide have been designated and preserved as places of outstanding significance to the history of Canada or British Columbia. Some are owned by Parks Canada, some by the Province of British Columbia and many more by local organizations. Some are major heritage attractions with a full range of visitor services demanding a day or more to fully experience. Others are more compact, revealing their secrets in less time.

Each one has its own story to tell and each one invites you to enter into a world where the past is brought to life. Take a stroll through Victoria’s world famous gardens, listen to the tales of fur traders, watch First Nations’ people carve totem poles, don you hard hat for a train ride deep into a copper mine and much, much more. Whether you live in British Columbia or are on vacation, you will discover that National and Provincial Historic Sites educate, inspire, and open your mind to the British Columbia’s rich and colourful history.

Start your journey here...

National Historic Sites of Canada Pass (for Parks Canada sites only)

The National Historic Sites of Canada Pass gives unlimited admission to the 78 National Historic Sites across the country that are operated by Parks Canada. It does not apply to National Historic Sites owned and operated by other levels of government or other organizations.

Sites owned by Parks Canada are identified by the "Beaver" logo.

Index

Victoria and Vancouver Island

1 Craigdarroch Castle

2 Emily Carr House

3 St. Ann’s Academy

4 Point Ellice House

5 Craigflower Farmhouse and School

6 Esquimalt Naval Sites

7 Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Lighthouse

8 Hatley Park

9 The Butchart Gardens

10 McLean Mill

11 Maritime Heritage Centre

12 Yuquot

Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

13 Vancouver Maritime Museum / St. Roch

14 Gulf of Georgia Cannery

15 Britannia Heritage Shipyard

16 BC Museum of Mining

17 Fort Langley

18 Power House at Stave Falls

19 Xá:ytem

20 Kilby Historic Site

21 Historic Yale

Southern Interior

22 Keremeos Grist Mill

23 Rogers Pass

24 Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre

25 SS Moyie

26 Fort Steele

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

27 Barkerville Historic Town

28 Cottonwood House

29 Historic Hat Creek Ranch

Northern British Columbia

30 SGang Gwaay (Nan Sdins), K’uuna Llnagaay (Skedans), T’aanuu Llnagaay

31 Haida Heritage Centre

32 North Pacific Cannery

33 Pike Island (Laxspa’aw) / Metlakatla Pass

34 Gitwangak Battle Hill

35 Fort St. James

Commemorating Canada’s History
in British Columbia

Parks Canada is responsible for the federal government’s program of historical commemoration, which recognizes nationally significant places, persons and events. In British Columbia 87 sites, 33 persons and 30 events have been designated by the Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monument Board. This guide has introduced you to the 32 National Historic Sites that are heritage attractions but there many more to see. Many continue in their original function – as an important public building, a grand hotel or the oldest Sikh Temple in North America. Each one is unique with its own compelling story to tell. Commemorating Canada’s History in British Columbia

VICTORIA AND VANCOUVER ISLAND

223 Robert Street, Victoria,
Bay Street Drill Hall, Victoria
Begbie Hall, Victoria
Chinatown, Victoria
Chinese Cemetery at Harling Point, Oak Bay
Church of Our Lord, Victoria
Congregation Emanu-el Temple, Victoria
The Empress Hotel, Victoria
Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway Roundhouse, Victoria
Estate of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, Victoria
Former Victoria Law Courts, Victoria
Fort Victoria, Victoria
Kiix?in Village and Fortress, Bamfield
Malahat Building / Old Victoria Custom House, Victoria
Rogers Building, Victoria
Royal Theatre, Victoria
Pemberton Memorial Operating Room, Victoria
St. Andrew’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Victoria
Victoria City Hall, Victoria
Weir’s (Taylor’s) Beach Earthworks Site, Metchosin
Whaler’s Shrine Site, Yuquot.

VANCOUVER AND THE LOWER MAINLAND

Abbotsford Sikh Temple, Abbotsford
Binning Residence, West Vancouver
Brilliant Suspension Bridge, Castlegar
Chilliwack City Hall, Chilliwack
Christ Church, Hope
Church of the Holy Cross, Skookumchuck Reserve
Former Vancouver Law Courts, Vancouver
Fort Alexandria, Alexandria
Fort Hope, Hope
Lions Gate Bridge, Vancouver
Marpole Midden, Vancouver
Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver
Point Atkinson Lighthouse, West Vancouver
Powell River Townsite Historic District, Powell River
Saint Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, North Vancouver
Stanley Park, Vancouver
Vogue Theatre, Vancouver

SOUTHERN INTERIOR

Boat Encampment, Warsaw Mountain, Red Rock Bay
Fort Kamloops, Kamloops
Kaslo Municipal Hall, Kaslo
Kicking Horse Pass, Yoho National Park
Kootenae House, Invermere
Myra Canyon Section of the Kettle Valley Railway, Myra
Rossland Court House, Rossland
Twin Falls Tea House, Yoho National Park

NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA

Chilkoot Trail, Chilkoot
Fort St. John, Taylor
Fort McLeod, McLeod Lake
Kitselas Canyon, Kitselas
Kitwanga Totem Poles , Kitwanga
Kitwankul, Kitwankul
Kiusta Village, Kiusta (Queen Charlotte Islands)
Triple Island Lighthouse, Triple Island
Yan Village, Yan (Queen Charlotte Islands)

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