Bulkley Valley Museum

About the Bulkley Valley Museum

The Bulkley Valley Museum is located in the heart of the Town of Smithers, northern British Columbia, at the intersection of Hwy 16 and Main Street.

The Bulkley Valley Museum is situated on Highway 16 between Prince George in the north central B.C. Interior and Prince Rupert on the Pacific Coast.  All of the towns in the Bulkley Valley (Houston, Telkwa, Moricetown, Hazelton and Terrace) are hosts to intriguing museums.  The Bulkley Valley Museum is open 12 months of the year under the auspices of the Bulkley Valley Historical and Museum Society.  The Society is governed by a board of directors and the board appoints the museum director and other staff.

Started in 1976, the Bulkley Valley Museum has built up a permanent collection which comprises the social and technological development of the Bulkley Valley.  The collection showcases a fascinating introductory fossil display which explains the prehistoric story of this beautiful valley.

Our fascinating aboriginal peoples’ exhibition describes the first contact between the Bulkley Valley First Nations and Europeans and the establishment of the fur trade and Moricetown.

Learn the absorbing story of the creation of Smithers by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1913 as a divisional point (a train station complete with a roundhouse and turntable for mighty locomotives) and why the railway company deliberately chose to build on a swamp.

Follow the development of the mining and forestry industries in our region.

Find out what is “Smithers’ Gift to Civilization”.

Discover the massive contribution of aviation to the development of Northern British Columbia in our “Aviation in Northern British Columbia” exhibition.  This exhibition also includes the story of America’s first ever Broken Arrow, the code word for a downed aircraft or submarine carrying atomic weapons.  Discover how an American B36 bomber with a nuclear payload took off from Alaska and ended up crashing into the mountains surrounding the Bulkley Valley on Valentine’s Day, 1950.

Find out where the names Bulkley and Smithers came from.

During our Summer Season, drop in at the Bulkley Valley Museum and find out how, at no cost, you can take part in the Smithers’ Culture Crawl around our lovely town.  On the “Crawl” you will discover exhibitions in unlikely locations which detail the stories of the Dutch and Swiss migrations to our Valley.  Also, you will discover kit homes which were shipped to Smithers by railway from Chicago and Ontario in the 1920’s and 1930’s.

The Bulkley Valley Museum’s friendly staff supply guided tours of its exhibitions to individuals and school groups.  We also have a cozy gift shop featuring local artists and writers.

The Museum is also a repository of microfilm editions of the Interior News newspaper and other newspapers in this area dating back to the 1900’s.  These microfilms are part of the Museum’s ongoing research programs.

The Bulkley Valley Museum is yours to discover.

Admission fee is by donation. ($3.00 suggested donation)

Tel:  (250) 847-5322
Email:  .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)