Fort Nelson Heritage Museum curator receives Award of Recognition

FORT NELSON, B.C. – Marlin “Marl” Brown received a posthumous Award of Recognition from the BC Historical Federation on June 4th for his decades of service with the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum and the Fort Nelson Historical Society.

Brown’s family accepted the award during the federation’s annual conference that was held online.

Brown arrived in Fort Nelson in 1957 to work at a Royal Canadian Army maintenance camp as a mechanic, where he noticed many artifacts being thrown away.

“I’ve seen so much stuff being destroyed. I just thought somebody should hang onto a little bit of our history,” Brown said in a video created by Destination British Columbia.

Brown founded the Fort Nelson Historical Society in 1977 and was not only the first but the only curator of the Fort Nelson Heritage Museum, which opened in 1987.

Marl was awarded the Canada 125 medal in 1992, which recognizes Canadians who have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community and Canada.

In 2018 the BC Museums Association awarded Brown the Distinguished Service Award to recognize his contributions to the art, culture and heritage fields.