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 City Hall - Fernie, BC Posted by:  ScroogieII
N 49° 30.244 W 115° 03.759
11U E 640263 N 5485296
Occupying an entire city block between 3rd and 4th Avenues and 5th and 6th Streets, the Fernie City Hall is centred in a park-like setting decorated with historical information and artwork.
Waymark Code: WM12ZDG
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/13/2020
Views: 1
The City of Fernie Register of Historic Resources lists 19 sites that have been designated as Municipal Historic Resources. Only three, though, are listed as primary resources, Fernie City Hall, the Fernie Heritage Library and the Fernie Provincial Courthouse. There appears to be no individual resource listings posted online by the city.
Built in 1905, city hall was initially the offices of the Crows Nest Pass Coal Company, the town's major employer at the time. It's a beautiful old gambrel roofed concrete block building with a mission style parapet over the center entrance, two storeys high, standing on a raised basement. The building was donated to the town by then owners, Shell Canada Limited, on March 1, 1993. As it was coal which gave birth to the City of Fernie, is seems only fitting that the city's government today be seated in the one time offices of the company primarily responsible for its existence.
Formed in 1897 with a coal mine at Coal Creek east of the present town of Fernie, the Crows Nest Pass Coal Company soon became one of the major players in the Elk Valley, as is exemplified by, this, its Fernie offices, built in 1905. The company continued in production while others faltered and disappeared, opening operations in Michel/Natal near Sparwood in 1901 and at Morrissey about seven miles south of Fernie in 1902. The company capitalized on the lucrative coking coal market developing in the Pacific Northwest states and at Trail, BC by building no less than 1188 coke ovens by 1904.
The Crows Nest Pass Coal Company managed to continue in production through the depression but, in 1968, most of its assets and properties were taken over by J. Edgar Kaiser. In 2004 the five remaining Elk Valley mines were consolidated into one large entity known as the Elk Valley Coal Partnership. In 2008 Teck acquired all interests in the partnership, today shipping 25 million tons of coking coal around the world annually.
Fernie City Hall
The Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company chose Fernie as its headquarters because of its location central to their mining activities in Coal Creek, Michel, and Carbonado (Morrissey). The original wooden company office buildings had burned twice, and this was enough incentive for general manager G.G.S. Lindsey to promise that an elegant new office building would be built following incorporation of the city.
By May 1905, cement blocks were on the site ready for the start of building, and the date for laying the cornerstone was set for June 20th. In celebration, this date was declared a general holiday for Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Co. employees, and Mrs. Lindsey laid the cornerstone marked ‘1905’ using a silver trowel. There was some disappointment that William Fernie was unable to attend and officiate, as he had been instrumental in laying the foundation for the company. As part of the ceremonies, the Engineer H.B. Wright deposited a time capsule under the cornerstone containing period currency coins, company records, the first and current issues of the Free Press, the 1902 souvenir issue and the current copy of the Fernie Ledge.
‘Fire-proof’ masonry structures had become the trend in building, and not only did this building survive the Great Fire of 1908, it also served the community as a place of refuge during and after the fire. It remained occupied solely by the Crow’s Nest Pass Coal Company until 1984, when the building became Fernie’s City Hall. In 2011, along with other iconic locations in Fernie, City Hall was the setting for filming of the Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups. The Christmas decorations that adorn City Hall each year were a gift from the filmmakers in thanks for the town’s hospitality.
From the City of Fernie
Official Heritage Registry: [Web Link]
Address:
501 3rd Avenue
Fernie, BC
V0B 1M0
Heritage Registry Page Number: Not listed
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