Come and explore the Lakes District Museum where one will experience the interesting history of how Burns Lake came to be the community it is today. The Lakes District Museum building is one of the older buildings in Burns Lake and was home to the head Forest Warden and his family in 1930’s. The house has 10 rooms all holding different displays highlighting the cultural and economic history of the area. Take a short walk around the Heritage Centre and Museum building to experience some of the farming, mining and forestry machines, techniques and tools of yesteryear; we have displays of the tools and machinery of farming, forestry, ‘tie hacking’, mining, and prospecting activities that have occurred in the Burns Lake area. Stop in at the Lakes District Museum and meet the friendly staff who can answer your questions.

On the Museum grounds, you will see the mysterious-sounding ‘Bucket of Blood’ cabin. This was the residence of Barney Mulvaney the red-headed Irishman who established the Burns Lake townsite after the completion of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in 1915. The Bucket of Blood was one of the first houses to be constructed in Burns Lake proper, where Barney lived with his American bride Lillian Ruth Hill while Barney built the town’s first hotel, named the “Cheslatta Hotel”. The Bucket of Blood became the town’s first pub and gambling club and was a magnet for old-timers, prospectors, land scouts, and trappers. Lillian died after six years of marriage due to illness; she is buried in the Burns Lake Band Cemetery here in Burns Lake. Barney continued to live in Burns Lake until his death in 1961, he is buried in the Burns Lake Cemetery. Interested in other stories about the Bucket of Blood and Barney? Come visit the Lakes District Museum to hear the rest of the story.