A piece of Sun Peaks history is looking to be restored thanks to a grant from Heritage B.C.

It applied for grant earlier this year and was recently awarded the $5000 request through the 2024 Heritage Legacy Fund.

Kristin Passmore is the President of the Sun Peaks Historical Society. She says this will pay for a third party to come in and asses what will be needed to restore the Tod Mountain Herders Cabin.

“So the cabin is one of Sun Peaks’ oldest structures. It was built by a ranching company in the late 1940s. It was originally used by the sheep ranchers who graze animals on Tod mountain, and then later cattle ranchers. And it’s been used throughout the years by the local ranching families and visited by lots of local some of some of them have even donated supplies and time to help prevent the cabin from further damage.”

The cabin is located in the West bowl and with the addition of the new chair in that area this year, some locals became concerned that it may become a liability to the resort and taken down. So the Sun Peaks Historical Society joined the initiative. “We’ve just been assisting locals with materials and stuff so that they can fix it up. Well, they’re just like fixing the roof to prevent it from further damage.”

“We were put in contact with a with a company called Heritage Works and their conservation company from Vancouver Island. They helped us with the grant and so the $5,000 is will be for an assessment for the for the cabin. From there, we would apply for another grant, potentially to have the company fixed cabin.”

Passmore doesn’t think it will be a particularly large project, but the cabin’s location could create a few challenges. In terms of when the restoration could be completed? “I mean, we’d love to say next year, but we have no idea. And of course, like the grant process takes a while. So, hopefully by next year we have the money, and the project is started. And then once it’s completed, it would become a part of the trail network. The Sun Peaks hiking trails and we would restore the old horse trails into it and hopefully make it like a picnic destination.”

Anyone who is interested they can visit the Sun Peaks Historical Society website, or they can email us at historicalsocietysp@gmail.com with any information or any donations.