Point Ellice House Musuem & Gardens Like many historic sites in BC and Canada, Point Ellice House has a document called the Statement of Significance (SoS) which describes the heritage value and character defining elements of the site. The SoS is a guiding document for our work at Point Ellice House – it explains which […]
Caring for a Historic Lawn: Support our Purchase of a New Mower Read More »
Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens February marks both Black History Month and Heritage Week (February 15th to 20th) in British Columbia. With this in mind, we want to share the stories of a few Black workers featured in our 2020-21 exhibit, Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria, 1842-1915. For much of the
Black History Month: Keeping Victoria Clean in the 19th Century Read More »
Tim Fitzthum, Volunteer Interpreter By the late 19th century, the Rock Bay neighbourhood had become a mixture of waterside factories, mills and shipyards, modest workers lodgings, and grand homes along Pleasant Street. Along the shores of Rock Bay and the Upper Harbour, one could find tanneries, sawmills, factories producing matches, canned fruit, watercraft, metalworks, and
The Point Ellice Swimming Baths Read More »
Dr. Kelly Black, Executive Director It seems like each week at Point Ellice House we uncover a mystery that needs solving or a new artifact to identify. This past October was no exception! As part of our ongoing rehabilitation of the South Garden, Fallingwater Property Services began a small project to clear and level an
Brick by Brick: Uncovering the Past at Point Ellice House Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Curatorial Assistant & Jeannine Worthing, Visitor Services Coordinator Volunteers are a central part of the Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens team; they help maintain the gardens, act as interpreters for visitors, and assist with conservation of the house and its collection. With our temporary closure this past spring due to the COVID-19
Volunteering from Home: Transcription & Description of the Collection Read More »
Kelly Black, PhD, Executive Director With a collection of over 12,000 artifacts, we frequently come across items that spark our curiosity. Sometimes details about artifacts in the collection are readily available, other times we reach out to experts who can help us understand what the object was used for or how it came to be
The Other Side of a Medal Read More »
Point Ellice House and the families that lived here have inspired a number of authors over the years. The latest writer to draw inspiration from the historic house is Vanessa Winn; she has contributed this guest post about her latest novel, Trappings (available in the PEH Gift Shop). Vanessa Winn After writing my first historical
Christeah Dupont, Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens For this week’s artifact spotlight we are highlighting a straw hat known as a “Boater” or “Panama Hat” (PEH1975.001.4294; “Boater” with black grosgrain ribbon). This particular hat dates from the early twentieth century and belonged to either Frank or Jack O’Reilly. Being woven from straw, the Boater
Artifact Spotlight: Straw Hats for Summer Comfort Read More »
Tom Bown, Research Associate, Royal British Columbia Museum Despite the fact Victoria has, for the most part, had a safe water supply, anyone living in the 19th and early 20th century needed to remain vigilant. The threat of serious water borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid were never far from mind, but sometimes the
Mineral and Soda: Bottled Water in Victoria’s Past Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Curatorial Assistant Content Warning – Racism In our new exhibit, Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria, 1842-1915, the politics of cleanliness is on display. One artifact visitors might recognize is a bar of Pears soap. This particular bar of soap probably became part of the Point Ellice House collection in the
Wash Your Hands: Interpreting a Bar of Soap Read More »
