Description of Historic Place

The Caleb Pike House is a squared-log building located within the Caleb Pike Heritage Park at 1589 Millstream Road in the District of Highlands, British Columbia. The historic place includes the building on its footprint.

Heritage Value

The Caleb Pike House is valued as part of the Highlands community's history. Originally a farm house, it was built in 1883 by one of the Highlands' earliest settlers, Caleb Pike, and his two teenaged sons. Caleb Pike lived in the house with his two sons and three daughters, and after he died in 1888, his sons Henry and Charlie took over the farm. They farmed together for twenty years, raising sheep and a few cattle, and selling eggs, milk and vegetables. Like many of the pioneers in the Highlands, the brothers eked out a living as farmers and relied on additional off-farm employment to survive.

The rustic charm of the building's log architecture is valued for its aesthetic contribution to the Caleb Pike Heritage Park, the community, and the region. One of the oldest remaining buildings in the District, it is typical of the Hudson Bay style of log construction where a cross-cut saw, broad axe and adze were used. The squared-log building with dove-tailed corners is roughly 26' by 30' including the front porch.

The building is also valued as a location for community gatherings, and for supporting community interdependence while celebrating a pioneer way of life. This was recognized in the decision to restore the building in 1983. During the revitalization, the interior walls were removed from the lower half of the house to create a single large room; this allowed it to be used as a community centre. Since the incorporation of the District in 1993, the Caleb Pike House has been the primary meeting place in the community for social and cultural events, as well as for official meetings.

Source: District of Highlands Municipal Office

Character-Defining Elements

Key character-defining elements of the Caleb Pike House include:

- Dove-tailed corners
- Covered front porch
- Sash windows on all sides
- Cedar shake roof
- Lime, cement and sand chinking with horse hair as an added binder
- Squared logs showing the large size of trees when the area was first settled
- Situation of the building on the original site
- Traces of original whitewash on some of the logs
- Porch railings, restored to match a photo from the early 1900s
- Adze marks visible on log walls
- Open configuration of interior lower storey
- Community use for folk music performances, celebrations, craft shows and meetings