Construction on a courthouse began in 1948 after residents successfully lobbied the province to establish a Government Agency here. A request for bids was put in The Review newspaper in March of 1948, and in April that same year, a Smithers firm named Bovill & Hann won the contract with a bid of $52,212.
The two-storey building was designed to house a courtroom, the Government Agent's office and living quarters, and a basement containing offices for various departments (including Lands, County and Provincial Courts, and Water Rights). The Public Works Department moved into the new structure in January 1949, and the village's first Government Agent, Mr. Aubrey Fisher, began offering his services to the public there around the same time. Trygarn Pelham Lyster "Barney" Mulvany, who served as the town's magistrate, also worked out of the building and allegedly heard the new courtroom's first case.
By the early '70s, the building was woefully inadequate, and residents began lobbying for a new one. A new provincial courthouse opened next door in October 1982, and the old courthouse went up for sale in January 1986. It served as the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako's administration building before being purchased by private firm.
The two-storey building was designed to house a courtroom, the Government Agent's office and living quarters, and a basement containing offices for various departments (including Lands, County and Provincial Courts, and Water Rights). The Public Works Department moved into the new structure in January 1949, and the village's first Government Agent, Mr. Aubrey Fisher, began offering his services to the public there around the same time. Trygarn Pelham Lyster "Barney" Mulvany, who served as the town's magistrate, also worked out of the building and allegedly heard the new courtroom's first case.
By the early '70s, the building was woefully inadequate, and residents began lobbying for a new one. A new provincial courthouse opened next door in October 1982, and the old courthouse went up for sale in January 1986. It served as the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako's administration building before being purchased by private firm.
