Governed by the Fernie and District Historical Society, founded in 1964, the first Fernie Museum opened August 4, 1979, the date of Fernie’s Diamond Jubilee, in the former Catholic Church rectory. It operated from this location until 1999 when the Church again required the use of the space. For a while the museum's collection was in storage, operated sporadically in temporary locations. In 2009, the City of Fernie bought the former BC Hydro building, which was originally the historic 1910 Home Bank building. Operating under a 25 year lease, this is the present home of the museum and Fernie Visitors' Centre.
The museum houses a nice collection of artefacts relating to the town's history, and particularly the coal mining history of the town, as it was coal mining which gave rise to the town at the turn of the twentieth century. In its collection is a large body of historical documents and photographs, as well. Admission is by donation.
As part of the Canada 150 celebrations which celebrate Canada's 150th birthday, late in 2017 the museum dug out 150 "Treasures and Curiosities" to be put on temporary display. The artefacts had been in storage for 20 years and were displayed from December 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018. When the exhibition closed the treasures went back into storage, not to become permanent displays until 2020. See the short news article on this exhibition below.
EXHIBIT OPENING: TREASURES AND CURIOSITIES AT FERNIE MUSEUM
November, 2017
The Fernie Museum has collected objects since 1964. The diverse collections tell how communities in the Elk Valley grew and evolved over time. Individual objects provide insight into each generation’s desire to preserve their part of the Fernie story. In a rare peek into the vaults, the Fernie Museum presents 150 treasures and curiosities in the final exhibition celebrating Canada 150.
These objects have not been seen by the public since they were put into storage 20 years ago. In 2018, the Museum will begin a program to rehouse and catalogue the entire collection.
The collection will not be available to the public again until after this process is complete, scheduled for 2020. The Museum will also be showcasing its revamped main floor exhibit, This Is Our Fernie. Enhancing the popular exhibit, 7 new interactive stations have been added to expand the stories told in the exhibit. Funded by the Government of BC through the BC Canada 150 fund administered by the BC Museums Association.
From the Fernie Fix Magazine