Helmcken House

The historic Helmcken House was set up by Dr. John Sebastian Helmcken, a surgeon with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Helmcken later became a statesman and helped negotiate the entry of British Columbia as a province into Canada. The doctor’s original 19th-century medical kit is among the items available for viewing at Helmcken House.

He built the house in Victoria, British Columbia when he married the daughter of Governor James Douglas in 1852. The house began as a three-room log house and grew with the prosperity and size of the family. Now the oldest house in British Columbia on its original site that still opens for the public, Helmcken House is located in the heart of Victoria’s sparkling Inner Harbour district outside the main entrance of the Royal BC Museum.

Helmcken House is closed during the fall and winter seasons, including Halloween, with the exception of a special Christmas Open House, which is free with a same-day Royal BC Museum admission ticket. The grounds of Helmcken House are always accessible when the heritage house is closed.