Oliver Museum receiving much-needed funding for upkeep of historic buildings

Photo: Contributed

The Oliver Museum will be receiving a much-needed new paint job and a crumbling heritage building on site will receive repairs thanks to new funding from the provincial government's Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program.

A grant of $23,626 will go a long way to helping the museum stay on its feet, especially after a difficult year marred by the pandemic.

The funds will be put toward cleaning and repainting the museum’s badly weathered 1924 wooden siding, repairing an artifact shelter with a collapsing roof, and changing lighting in the 1896 Fairview Jail to LEDs to reduce fire hazards.

“We are so grateful that these projects have received funding,” said Julianna Weisgarber, executive director for the Oliver & District Heritage Society which manages the museum.

“They ensure the continued preservation of the artifacts, the Fairview Jail, and the museum, a unique heritage building and one of the oldest public buildings in our community, for all to enjoy.”

The three projects will hopefully help conserve unique heritage structures for Oliver's future generations.

The exterior of the museum, which is housed in the town's first police station, has deteriorated over decades of moisture build-up and sunlight exposure.

"Repainting the exterior will preserve and protect the 97 year-old wood for the future," the heritage society says.

LEDs will also protect the Fairview Jail, one of the historic ghost town’s last survivors, from heat damage and fire risk. It will also improve energy-efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

All of the tasks will be ongoing throughout 2021, and the society says they will provide work for numerous local contractors.