Description of Historic Place

The Nakusp Library and Museum is a converted two-room gabled wood-frame schoolhouse with a central entrance and basement. The site includes the 1912 schoolhouse and external museum displays from the paddlewheel era in Nakusp.

Heritage Value

The Nakusp Library and Museum's heritage value lies in the role it has played in the growth and social life of Nakusp as a school, library and municipal office. In 1911 Nakusp was growing rapidly and the one-room school was bursting at the seams. The School Board obtained all the lots in Block 11, and commissioned a two-room school with a basement. In 1957 the school was sold to the Nakusp Centennial Committee. A plebiscite was held to determine future use of the building and it was agreed that it would become a public library. The library opened as a centennial project in 1958 and the building was renamed the Centennial Building. This was a significant step for the community because the library had lacked a permanent home for many years and was closed altogether from 1934 to 1950. Part of the upstairs became the Village office after incorporation in 1964. Meetings, square dances, and other entertainments were held in the building prior to the Village setting up offices there. In 1967 the Nakusp and District Museum was established in the lower level. In 2005 the Village offices moved out and the library expanded into the vacant space.

The building is futher valued for its design, which reflects the provincial role in establishing education standards and assisting communities in meeting their educational needs. The school was a standard two-room schoolhouse as laid out by the Department of Lands and Works. It is a rectangular one-storey wood frame structure with a hipped roof and a central gabled porch. This plan was designed to accommodate two classes of 50 students each. Banks of windows were designed to provide maximum natural light. The plan included a basement for separate boys and girls rooms.

The permanent paddlewheeler exhibits located outside the building are valued for their association with early water transportation and shipbuilding in the Kootenays.

Source: Village of Nakusp Municipal Office, 91-1st Street NW, Nakusp, B.C. V0G 1R0

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Nakusp Library and Museum include its:
-downtown location on the west side of 6th Avenue
-single storey form and massing
-hipped roof
-central gabled porch
-fenestration, including banks of windows for the classrooms
-cladding of lap siding
-external paddlewheeler displays, including the steam whistle and steering wheel of the S.S. Minto and the paddlewheel of the S. S. Revelstoke