Helmcken House
The Helmcken House, is the oldest surviving building in Victoria, the capital of the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located right next to the Royal British Columbia Museum and today contains a museum.
Is named the house after Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken, a German -born physician and politician, who played a crucial role in the development of Canada. He lived from 1852 until his death in 1920 in the house, the most easterly part represents the oldest.
Helmcken married on December 27, 1852 Cecilia Douglas ( 1834-1865 ), the eldest daughter of Governor James Douglas, with whom he had four sons and three daughters. Cecilia Helmcken however, died in 1865, so that Helmcken remained with the four surviving children. She was buried in the garden.
The house was built on a plot of land near the Inner Harbor, where originally had been living Indians. These Indians of the area, the Songhees, helped him build the house by about cut the shingles or the garden along with well built or stumps removed. In the garden were Camassia quamash, an edible plant species cultivated the Songhees large scale. Helmckens mother, Amelia Morgan, had her daughter taught both English and French and Cree, their native language. Although learned Helmcken not Songhee language, but his eldest daughter was named the law.
1871, after the annexation of the province of Canada, located Helmcken withdrew from politics and devoted himself to medicine without lucrative pursuits, such as the post of Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway, transcontinental Canadian railway kick. In 1885 he became the founding president of the British Columbia Medical Association, and practiced from 1851 to 1910 in the prison of the province.
In the house next to Helmcken and four children lived a Chinese servant named Ah Tan (born 1855), sometimes probably a second servant, and one housekeeper, first, " Mrs. Wild ", later" Mrs. Foreman ".
Therefore Helmcken enlarged the house in 1882 by a further cultivation. While the oldest part still made of logs ( logs ) was created in the form of a log cabin, was preferred in the meantime boards as the outer skin.
After Helmckens death his daughter Edith ( Dolly ) took over Helmcken ( 1863-1939 ) the house where she lived until her death in 1939. They wanted to let destroy all records of her father after her death, however, was swayed by the Provincial Librarian and Archivist W. Kaye Lamb. She inherited the total holdings and the house to the archive of British Columbia.
The house has remained largely intact from inside and outside the state of 1920, especially since Dolly Helmcken everything was as it had existed at the time of her father's death. Even his clothes were still hanging in place. Added to furnishings, such as some of the pictures, but especially all the necessary utensils for a doctor.
Directly across from Helmcken House is the St. Anne 's School, a school that was run by nuns. Helmckens daughters attended this school.