  We observed the Blue Compact Dwarf/Wolf-Rayet galaxy Mrk 178 with the NICMOS
camera aboard HST. The galaxy is well resolved into individual stars in the
near-IR; photometry in J and H yields color-magnitude diagrams containing 791
individual point sources. We discuss the stellar content, drawing particular
attention to the intermediate age and/or old stars. Mrk 178 is only the second
Blue Compact Dwarf galaxy in which the red giant branch has been resolved,
indicating stars with ages of at least 1-2Gyr. This allows us to derive a
distance of $\geq$4.2($\pm$0.5)Mpc. The near-IR color-magnitude diagram also
exhibits an abundance of luminous, asymptotic giant branch stars. We find that
this requires vigorous star formation several hundred Myr ago. Some candidate
carbon stars are identified via their extreme near-IR color. We argue that
Mrk178 is fundamentally an old galaxy, based on the NICMOS detection of red
giants underlying the blue, starburst core, and its extended, faint halo of
redder color.
