Miner's Cottage

A good example of vernacular working-class housing, the Miner's Cottage represents Nanaimo's dominant 19th century housing form. From the 1850s to the end of the 19th century, hundreds of similar structures were built in the Nanaimo area. Unframed, these cottages were constructed by nailing vertical boards to a floor base. Horizontal boards were then nailed perpendicularly to the vertical boards. This simple construction method required little skill and few tools and was, consequently, a cheap, easy-to-build choice for miners and other labourers. Workers' cottages were very modest; there was little or no ornamentation and square footage was typically under 500. Alterations made to this cottage after it was moved to its current location in the late 1970s were minor and the building's integrity is largely intact.

The only building of its type that is open to the public, the Miner's Cottage has significant educational value as an example of the living arrangements and lifestyles of 19th century British Columbian industrial workers. Set in a municipal park that includes a regional museum and other mining-related artifacts, the cottage is part of an integrated coal mining education and interpretative programme.