The Former Territorial Court House was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1980 because:

- it is representative of the judicial institution in Yukon Territory;

- this substantial frame building conveys an air of dignity and stability within the community.

Its heritage value resides in its identity as a symbol of the Canadian legal system as illustrated by its formal and functional design.

Purpose built to replace the original, inadequately sized log courthouse, the Former Territorial Court House was designed with two court chambers in order to accommodate the large volume of court business. The building of such an impressive structure in the remote location of Dawson was a clear physical statement of the Canadian government's determination to establish and maintain a stable environment for the Dawson community. Designed by Department of Public Works architect, Thomas Fuller, the former court house was built from 1900 to 1901. When the court was relocated in 1910, the building was taken over by the Royal North West Mounted Police who re-allocated interior spaces for their own uses. In 1954, the Sisters of St Anne took it over for use as a hospital. They carried out further interior alterations and added a new wing, but maintained the integrity of the original exterior elevations. Today, the building is maintained by Parks Canada as part of the Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site of Canada.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1980.

Character Defining Elements

Aspects of this site that contribute to its heritage value include:

- the building's orientation and prominent location within the townsite;

- the monumental presence and dominant profile of the building with its long, rectangular two-and-a-half-storey massing under a metal hipped roof topped with a lantern;

- its classically inspired design with its symmetrically organized multi-bay façade with a central entry, slightly projecting pedimented flanking pavilions, and details such as the second-storey balcony over the entrance with columns and balustrade;

- its wood-frame construction adapted to cope with permafrost and fine finishing details, all evocative of high standards of craftsmanship;

- the surviving major public spaces in their original axial configuration, materials, and workmanship relating to the building's original function as a court house;

- the viewscapes and relationship between the building and other historic buildings comprising the Dawson Historical Complex National Historic Site of Canada.

Historical Sources Location

"Physical Intervention Inventory" 1987 T Naughten

"The Early Court House of the Yukon" 1977 M Carter & M Archibald

As Found Drawings HWDC/75/H44

FHBRO Building Report 87-63, Joan Mattie Architectural History Branch.

Design drawings HDDC/81/H14 - Forsberg C

Parks Canada Building Files, KNHS

City of Dawson Municipal Records. Assessment and Tax Rolls. 1998

Renovation Information

1903 addition of a brick vault.

1914 alterations of interior by NWMP - South interior stairwell removed, interior partitions and washrooms are added.

1954 alterations designed by Hospital design section of Northern Health & Welfare. Brick vault and part of washroom extension are removed and a new wing is added to the north end of building. Extensive interior alterations.

1963/64 further alterations to interior by Sisters of St. Ann. North fire exit added and heating plant relocated to separate structure.

1969 to present - ongoing minor alterations to non-original portions of building.

1991 - vestibule/reception area altered with FHBRO approval.

Construction Style

Rectangular building with the long facade facing west. Shiplap siding with corner boards and metal gable roof. West elevation has pediment gable roofs on north and south wings and continuous eaves across facade. Doric capitals on columns on the second floor balconet and on each side of the ionic capital columns on the ground floor, west wall. Double doors are centered between two ionic capital columns on ground floor. Moulded freize, plain soffits, and projecting eaves are continuous around the building. Frame cupola with a metal pyramidal roof centered between the pediment gables on the west wall. Circular windows on the north/south walls of cupola with decorative brackets. Single hung windows with shaped header trim and lug sills on first floor. Second floor windows on the balconet have continuous header trim. Moulded frieze forms header trim for the remaining second floor windows. Open staircase with platform, railings and metal shed roof over single entrance on south wall. East wall has closed porch, single door. East part of roof face has two gable roof dormers with louvred ventilation on east wall of dormer. North wall has open staircase, platform and railings with shed roof over entrance on first and second floors. Truncated metal hip roof on north addition.

Cultural History

This is one of two territorial courthouses in the Yukon that have remained intact since its construction in 1901. Built by the federal government and designed by federal architect TW Fuller, this building was one of the first permanent structures in Dawson. The courthouse served its intended purpose for only 10 years when court and the various civil services were consolidated under one roof, the Administration building. The Court House remained vacant for the next four years, then was taken over by the RNWMP in 1914 as offices and a barracks until 1950. From 1954 to 1967 a privately run hospital was housed here. Parks Canada has since acquired the property and now rent it to the territorial government as office space.

When the Yukon Territorial Act was passed, three types of courts were created in Yukon: the Gold Commissioner's Court ( to handle mining disputes), the Police Court (to handle minor criminal and civil cases at the local NWMP posts) and the Territorial Court which served as a criminal and civil court and acted as appeals body for the other two courts. The Court House supplied a new image of permanence, by its design and quality construction and by the commitment shown by the federal government financing its construction. The Courthouse can be seen as one of the four major territorial buildings that signaled the Canadian government's intention to support Dawson's future. This building thus had a marked influence in transforming the town from a temporary gold rush camp to a community with a future.

Documentation Location

National Historic Sites Directorate, Documentation Centre, 5th Floor, Room 89, 25 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Québec.