Fernie - American Courthouses

Fernie is named for William Fernie, who with Colonel James Baker were the main players in the drive to bring coal mining to the valley.

Surrounding Courthouses:

N – Golden

E – Alberta Province

S – Montana State

W – Creston and Cranbrook

Location: Fernie is located in the southeastern part of the Province.

Judicial District: Kootenay Judicial District

Judicial Centre: Cranbrook

Law Courts – Fernie

Location: 450 4th Avenue / 4th Street

Built: 1907 – 1908 / 1909 – 1910

Style: Renaissance

Architect: John James Bastion Honeyman of Glasgow, Scotland / George Stanley Rees of Honeyman and Curtis (1909)

Contractor: Cornish & Cooper of Vancouver / James A Broley of Fernie (1909)

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick, wood, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the centre of Fernie. The building has ornamental gables and roofing, wooden exterior, elaborate front and rear entrances. The building also has slate shingles, copper trim, and granite imported from Vancouver. In the interior, the hallways run east-west with ornate stairs located at the southeast corner. The Circuit Court courtroom is located on the north side of the second story along with jury room, barrister’s room and Judge’s chambers. Six lofty stained glass windows light the courtroom along the north side. Each of these six windows bears a coat of arms significant to the history of British Columbia including the insignia of our first governor Sir James Douglas and British Columbia’s first judge, Mathew Baillie Begbie. West Coast cedar provides the finishing in this room and the high paneled dome ceiling leaves all the beautifully grained timber exposed. The building houses the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court and is named as the Fernie Law Courts. The building was rebuilt in the chateau style in 1909 after the Great Fire of August 1, 1908. The architect was George Stanley Rees of Honeyman and Curtis and the contractor was James A Broley of Fernie.

History: The first courthouse in 1898 was a simple shack. In April 1899, the court moved to a larger 28 foot square building with courtroom, jail cells and offices. In 1907 to 1908 the third and present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $26,360. After the fire in 1908, the courthouse was rebuilt in 1909 at a cost of $70,000.

Kootenay Judicial District Courthouses:

Castlegar, Cranbrook, Creston, Fernie, Golden, Greenwood, Grand Forks, Kaslo, Nakusp, Nelson and Rossland