One of the oldest houses in B.C. is this one-storey log house that predates the creation of Canada

Ready to get a glimpse into life in 19th-century B.C.? Helmcken House is one of the oldest houses in the province remaining on its original property, and it preserves an important era of Canadian history.

Life in colonial Victoria

Built in 1852 by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken, the house predates the Canadian Confederation by over a decade, which means B.C. was still a colony at the time the house was constructed. Today, its preserved interior paints a picture of what life may have been like in colonial Victoria.

A surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company, Helmcken built his home upon marrying the daughter of Governor James Douglas. According to the Royal BC Museum, he went on to become a statesman and helped negotiate B.C.’s entry into Canada.

In addition to being the first speaker of an elected assembly in B.C., Dr. Helmcken is known as an early Vancouver Island doctor and the first president of the Canadian Medical Association.

His one-storey log house remains in the same spot 173 years later, facing what has become Elliot Street Square right next to the Royal BC Museum.

How to visit

Ready to check it out for yourself? Admission to the Royal BC Museum starts at $13 for students and $10 for children (ages six to 18), and $23 for adults. Visitors can check out the Helmcken House at no additional cost.

Inside Helmcken House, you’ll also find Dr. Helmcken’s original 9th-century medical kit!

Looking for another historical building to explore in the area? St. Ann’s Schoolhouse was located just outside of Fort Victoria when it was constructed in 1844, but was moved to its present location behind Helmcken House on Elliott Square in 1974.

Considered the oldest building still standing in Victoria, it was built by Jacques Lequechier in the Hudson’s Bay Company Red River style, and later purchased by Roman Catholic Bishop Demers in 1853 to be used as a residence and schoolhouse.

Five years later, in 1858, four Sisters of St. Ann returned with the Bishop to live and hold their first school classes in this building.

The museum (and Helmcken House and St. Ann’s Schoolhouse) is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Helmcken House 

Where: 638 Douglas St., Victoria

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