The Wells was the first hotel constructed on the Wells Townsite. The sale of Block 5, Lots 1,2 and 3 to Paddy McDonell in April of 1934 was the first sale of lots by the Townsite Company. A contract was let to Burg and Johnson, carpenters out of Vancouver and construction commenced in the summer of 1934 and was completed by October. The 17 room Wells Hotel opened on November 13, 1934. The Province Newspaper of October 13, 1934 gives a description:

"At the corner of Sanders and Pooley Street is being erected the handsomest building in the Cariboo - the two storey, 15 bedroom modern hotel, yet to be named, of a Paddy McDonell. It is said to be the first building in Cariboo built from plans drawn by a qualified architect. It is finished in California stucco. White sand for its interior finish was brought direct from Del Monte, California, and fine sawdust (for the magnesite floor) from Vancouver; choloride of magnesium from Germany, Spanish oxide red coloring from Spain; black carbon from Trail; French yellow ochre from France, and asbestos from Quebec. It's fireplace in the main lobby is to be faced with Quartz (with the gold left in) from each of the three mines - Cariboo Gold Quartz; Island Mountain (Newmont) and Coronado on Cornish Mountain; all three can be seen from the upstairs of the McDonell Hotel."

In 1939 an addition was built containing 8 rooms with private bath and an enlarged beverage room. For years, the Wells was the fine hotel in the town, but hard times hit with the closing of the Gold Quartz Mine and by 1985 the hotel was closed.. In 1986 the Heritage Trust funded the preparation of a set of measured drawings of the building. Barbara Wilson, an architecture student undertook the project and became inspired by the building. She bought the building and, single-handedly, began restoration and repairs to the badly deteriorated structure. The Wells is once again a fine hotel - the centerpiece of the town.

Architectural Description

The Wells Hotel is the largest and most imposing building on Pooley Street and is the centerpiece of the commercial streetwall. It's masonry finish and 'style' establish a sense of permanence missing from the other frame buildings. It's importance as a landmark cannot be overemphasized.

Stylistically, the building is designed in an English Tudor mode, utilizing two symmetrically placed false gables and a cut-corner entrance form. A half-timbered effect is achieved by the use of beige stucco overlaid by brown slats and rustically constructed shutters on the second story facade (1983).