Quesnel & District Museum and Archives

Recognized as one of the top ten in BC, this museum opened in 1963 and now houses over 19,000 artifacts. 

Visitors will find much of interest including a valuable coin collection, a 1911 White automobile and rare Chinese artifacts.  Many artifacts are on display in exhibits that depict subjects such as mining, farming and pioneer life.

There are also activities and displays for children including scavenger hunts and a Discovery Place. Growing numbers of high school and university students, genealogists and other history buffs now use the archives, established in 1994.

Wells Museum

The Wells Museum is located in a large yellow building, which was previously used as the Island Mountain Mine Company office, is also home to the Wells Visitor Information Centre. Both facilities are open for the months of May until August, but can be opened upon request at other times of year as well.

The Museum has many exhibits featuring common 1930s culture, as well as mining artifacts from the Island Mountain Mine and the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company. Of particular interest are the giant chess set made from drill bits, fashion magazines from the 1930s, old style desks, as well as the two vaults used for gold and money located on the sides of the building.

The Museum also runs a school program for school groups coming through to Barkerville. Teachers can decide between a Scavenger Hunt or a historic tour of the town of Wells for their classes to participate in. These programs serve to educate the children about Wells of the past and in turn preserve the history of the mining community. The Museum puts on several fundraisers a year to raise money for the preservation of the historic buildings in the area, the gathering of artifacts, and the development of the school program. The largest and most popular fundraiser is the Annual Wells Historical Society Comedy Auction, where the actors in Barkerville lend their comedy talent to auction off donated items. This year the Comedy Auction is happening on the 31st of July. It is definitely something not to be missed! The Wells Museum should always be a definite stopping point for people heading to Barkerville.

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