Richard Holmes President of Pemberton and Son Ltd. and Michael Holmes President of Pemberton Holmes Ltd, the successor companies of the oldest family owned and operated real estate firm in North America announced last week the gift of all the archival material of the two companies to the Royal British Columbia Museum on the occasion of the companies 125th anniversary.
"We are very pleased to see the BC Museum take custody of this collection," stated Richard Holmes, "we believe it is the right place and right time for these historical records to be cared for and organized archivally for future generations."
Don Bourdon and Kathyrn Bridge of the museum who spearheaded the effort to acquire the collection were equally thrilled and commented that the collection was one of the most important business record collection in the museums possession casting light on the earliest days of Victoria's development as the founding city of British Columbia.
Pemberton Holmes Ltd was founded originally in 1887 as Pemberton and Sons Ltd by J. D. Pemberton, B.C's first surveyor general. Pemberton arrived by canoe from Seattle in 1851 when Victoria was first settled and over the course of the next decades acquired significant land holdings and business connections.
The firm has continued through 6 generations of ownership to the present day and recently re-emerged as a significant owner of restored heritage properties in Victoria as well as the largest real estate brokerage on Vancouver Island.