CHILLIWACK’s FIRST COURTHOUSE – In its history, Chilliwack has had three different courthouses, the first of which dates back before the turn of the last century. This first courthouse was located at the northwest corner of Victoria Avenue and Young Road North and was opened on October 18, 1894 with a total construction cost of $2,895. Prior to the opening of the new structure, the famous BC “Hanging Judge” Matthew Baillie Begbie would travel from New Westminster to Chilliwack to conduct circuit court wherever a session could be held (houses, barns, commercial buildings, etc.). In addition to County Court sessions and other civic, legal, and administrative functions, Chilliwack’s first courthouse for many years served as the centre for many other Chilliwack district activities including board of trade meetings, mock parliamentary debates, and game club meetings. This courthouse also housed the City’s jail. As Chilliwack’s population grew quickly in the early part of the 1900s, within 20 years of opening there was not enough space in the courthouse and in 1914 it underwent an addition to the rear of the structure, as well as extensive renovations. Over the years, Chilliwack’s courthouse on Victoria Avenue suffered a number of fires with varying degrees of damage and some fatalities. On October 27, 1906 a fire at the rear of the building (where the City jail was) proved fatal for two prisoners who could not be rescued in time. A second fire, this one more extensive, occurred on the evening of Halloween, October 31, 1949. The courthouse was greatly damaged and a number of records and some equipment were destroyed. The third (and final) fire occurred two years later on December 30, 1951 and completely gutted Chilliwack’s aging courthouse. Within a few weeks, the site was razed and the remains of the building were sold for scrap. After the second fire in October 1949, it was estimated that the cost to repair the courthouse would be $30,000 (equal to $309,000 in today’s dollars). Given the age of the building and the inadequate space, it was felt an expenditure of this magnitude would not be money well spent. Very quickly a campaign for a new Courthouse/Provincial Government building was well underway and in late December 1949 the site for Chilliwack’s second courthouse (the one most of us are familiar with at the corner of Victoria Avenue and College Street) was announced. Unfortunately, the third fire in December 1951 which finally destroyed the first courthouse happened nine months before the new second courthouse was completed and thus all civic and legal proceedings and functions had to be undertaken in temporary quarters until the new structure was finished. Chilliwack’s first courthouse stood prominently on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Young Road North for 57 years and it served Chilliwack’s citizens well. Today however, this stylishly designed but long-gone civic building is largely forgotten, if not unknown, but in its day it was a very important presence in the every-day life of early Chilliwack. The site of Chilliwack’s first courthouse is now part of the Jean McNaughton/Happy Wilkinson multi-purpose urban park. . PHOTOS: #1 - This photo, circa 1910, is taken on Victoria Avenue, facing north towards the courthouse. Young Road North is to the right of the shot. Note the south-facing deck on the top floor of the building and the elaborate fencing at the front. (Photo source: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1977.044.020) #2 – This image is circa 1912 and is taken from the roof of the recently-completed Hart Building, facing north-west. In the background is the original Chilliwack High School building and between it and Chilliwack’s first courthouse is just undeveloped fields. Note the rough and muddy condition of Young Road North. (Photo source: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: PP502043) #3 – This is a family photo from 1909 of my grandmother Irene Bunt (nee Knight) along with her good friend Gladys “Sammie” Turvey. They are on a bicycle ride around downtown Chilliwack (no helmets back then) and they have stopped on the wooden sidewalk to pose for this photo near the front steps of Chilliwack’s first courthouse on Victoria Drive. (Photo source: Chilliwack History Perspectives Collection) #4 – This photo from 1919 is one of the first aerial images of downtown Chilliwack and the 1914 expansion of Chilliwack’s first courthouse is evident off the back of the building. (Photo source: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1977.044.022) #5 - This photo is from January 1935 and is taken in the immediate aftermath of Chilliwack’s ice storm, looking north on Young Road North. Pictured is Chilliwack’s first courthouse at the corner of Young Road North and Victoria Avenue. Telephone poles are bent, wires are down, and everything is covered in ice. (Photo source: Chilliwack Museum and Archives Collection, Photo Number: 1978.013.022) #6 – This 1948 aerial photo of downtown Chilliwack shows how relatively close its first courthouse was to Five Corners. (Photo source: This is The Story of Chilliwack, Chilliwack Board of Trade) #7 – This photo is taken looking north on Young Road North and shows in a current context the location of Chilliwack’s first courthouse. The courthouse may be gone but there are considerably more trees in the area. Contrast the balmy image in this shot with the conditions evident in Photo #5; same location, but 79 years apart and very pronounced weather extremes. (Photo source: Chilliwack History Perspectives Collection) #8 – This is a current-day shot of the location of Chilliwack’s first courthouse and in particular where my Grandmother posed for a photo 104 years ago (see Photo #3). Long gone are the wooden sidewalk and wooden fence shown in the earlier photo. (Photo source: Chilliwack History Perspectives Collection)
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 13:24:48 +0000
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