Over 150 years ago, a young English doctor. John Sebastian Helmcken, Doctor Helmckentraveled from his home in England, around Cape Horn to the young Hudson Bay Company Fort Victoria. As Victoria’s first academy-trained doctor, he quickly became prominent in the small colony and his status grew when he married the eldest daughter of Governor Sir James Douglas. A surgeon by skill with the Hudson's Bay Company, he went on to become a statesman and helped negotiate British Columbia's entrance into confederation with the Dominion of Canada.

In 1852, he built a log cabin with three rooms for his new wife. Over the years it expanded to 10 rooms as it became home for their seven children for 87 years. In 1941, it was opened to the public as a museum and the oldest house in British Columbia on its original site.
Helmcken House gives one the sense that the family may still live there. Crowded with many of their personal items, it offer such things as the doctor’s collection of antique Helmcken Housemedical instruments, reputed to be the largest collection in North America, reproductions of the family photo album, and a large number of personal letters. Dr. Helmcken’s bedroom sanctuary is in perfect condition feels lived in, as does the Dining Room with the family’s piano and the well-used card table.
In the heart of downtown Victoria, surrounded by many other attractions, it serves as one of the best ways to get in touch with Victoria’s rich colonial history.

Helmcken House
10 Elliot Street Square
Victoria, B.C.
Canada
V8V 2P8