Smithers Community Heritage Register adopted by town council

The Smithers Community Heritage Register was presented to town council at tonight’s (Tuesday) meeting.

This has been in the works since December 2018 and was created by the Bulkley Valley Museum to record the historical buildings and locations in town.

“It’s officially recognized by a local government through a council resolution and it’s really a local government planning tool to focus on heritage education,” said Community Heritage Project Coordinator Alison Watson.

The registry was built through public engagement with residents submitting locations they wish to be included.

“Starting [October 2024] and ending [in January], property owners were directly notified by letter from the museum advising them their property has been included on the register and inviting them to provide feedback and comments,” said Watson.

There was some concern from owners about not being able to make changes to their property if they’re on the registry, which Watson clarified isn’t true.

Of the various owners they reached out to, only one asked that their property not be included.

The current register has 24 listings with various residential, commercial, and civic spaces with many on Main Street.

“The idea is that this register is built on over time to really tell this collective, interesting story about Smithers’ history as it relates to places,” said Watson.

Since creating the final draft, several other properties have been brought to the museum’s attention to be added to the registry.

“I remember attending the public engagement and there were all sorts of ideas being thrown out, all which have merit, but they’ve been able to boil it down to a well representative but not every place in town list,” said Councilor Frank Wray.

Councilor John Buikema also voiced potentially having plaques or signs made for each of the locations.

Council went ahead with adopting the register.