We are thrilled to announce the Bridge River Valley Community Association was successful in its request for funding for the Bralorne Pioneer Mines Office Building project from the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP) Unique Heritage Infrastructure stream. The BRVCA will receive $300,000 in funding for the project which will see the conservation of the building and the adaptive reuse by the Bralorne Pioneer Museum. The Bralorne Pioneer Mines Office Building was built in 1938-1939. This project will eventually result in space for the Bralorne Pioneer Museum along with some ancillary uses such as the laundromat, a small coffee and gift shop, office space and residential suites.
This announcement is part of BC’s $10 billion COVID response, which includes the Stronger BC for Everyone recovery plan —a plan that protects people’s health and livelihoods while supporting businesses and communities —and the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP). “We could not be happier to have this recognition and support from the Province,” says Paul Gravett, executive director of Heritage BC. “Through this funding program, the Province not only provided the largest one-time infusion of funds into the heritage sector, but it also recognized the importance and potential of heritage infrastructure and its place in our province’s economic picture.”
“Funding heritage and cultural projects throughout British Columbia is vital for communities and their well being. It allows them to remain connected to their past and it helps to support their cultural organizations” said Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development. “This funding also helps communities recover from the pandemic with investments in programs that benefit the whole community.”
“The Bralorne Pioneer Mines Office building conservation and adaptive reuse project was a great fit for this program”, says Pat Dahle, BRVCA President. “The program is designed to fit our needs as a very small community with a very significant and distinctive history both in provincially and nationally. While we will still need to find additional funding as well as continue to hone in on the fine details of the conservation work, this is a huge step towards moving this project forward and to completion.”
As one member of BRVCA wrote us upon hearing of the funding award, “Thank you one and all, this is fabulous news . I hope you all know how many people so appreciate all that you have done and do for the community, and restoration you are doing to preserve my childhood for one, but the history of one of the greatest place on earth to live. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.I will be 80 this year and I still have many pictures for you, but most of are my memories, of the best life I could have ever had growing up in Bralorne during its prime years.”
This project directly supports downtown businesses, tourist attractions and local visitors. The society believes that getting the museum open in the Bralorne Pioneer Mines Office Building to the public will significantly assist the economic development of Bralorne and the area. It is the intention to employ and contract with as many local or close to local folks as possible as this is another important piece of the project, to create employment in the area. The BRVCA will continue to provide as much information and updates as possible as well as touching bases with the community as input is needed on some of the various aspects of the project.
Heritage BC says “The awarded projects show us the strong local connections of our history and heritage. CERIP has shown us the great need for this type of funding and it has shown us that people need their heritage,” says Britney Dack, chair of Heritage BC’s board of directors. “It is part of our daily lives. It is part of communities and our stories”. The Bridge River Valley Community Association and the Bralorne Pioneer Museum couldn’t agree more! We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our community partners who have supported this project with their expertise, their volunteer time, letters of support, memberships and cash donations and other forms of monetary support. We especially want to thank all of the staff and volunteers who have made the Bralorne Pioneer Museum a successful long term community project since it was founded in 1977.
