CARIBOO GOLDFIELDS
Exploring Barkerville and area with students
Access
If arriving from Prince George, use the Schemenaur cut-off to take about 16km off of the trip: Travelling south on Hwy 97, turn left (E) onto Schemenaur Rd., 3.2km past the Cottonwood Bridge. Road crosses train tracks before meeting Hwy 26. Turn left (E) when you reach Hwy 26 and continue towards Barkerville. The Schemenaur cut-off may not come up as a viable route on Google Maps owing to the uncontrolled railway crossing, but it is paved and perfectly fine for cars and buses.
Cottonwood House
LOCATION: 26km from junction of Hwy 97 and 26 (at Quesnel); 1.3km E of the Cottonwood River Bridge
"Cottonwood House is one of the last remaining roadhouses in British Columbia. It was built in the 1860’s to offer accommodation, meals and provisions to miners and travellers on their journey along the Cariboo ‘Waggon’ Road to Barkerville or Quesnel." https://www.quesnel.ca/arts-recreation/parks-water/city-parks/cottonwood-house-historic-site
"Cottonwood House is one of the last remaining roadhouses in British Columbia. It was built in the 1860’s to offer accommodation, meals and provisions to miners and travellers on their journey along the Cariboo ‘Waggon’ Road to Barkerville or Quesnel." https://www.quesnel.ca/arts-recreation/parks-water/city-parks/cottonwood-house-historic-site
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"Cottonwood House Historic Site is located east of Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada on the Gold Rush Trail to Barkerville Historic Town & Park. In 1963 the province of British Columbia purchased 26-acres of the property and Cottonwood House became a designated provincial historic site. Much like it was when it was built in the 1860s, Cottonwood House offers a resting place to travellers between Barkerville and Quesnel. Today, this wheelchair-accessible provincial historic site will allow you to experience first hand over 75 years of the Boyd family history and the many features this unique heritage site has to offer. Tour the many heritage buildings on site, including the Double Barn, built in 1895, and the General Store, originally built as a warehouse in 1888. Other heritage structures include Horse Barn, a Guest House and Root Cellar." https://www.barkerville.ca/cottonwoodhouse/
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Source: https://www.barkerville.ca/cottonwoodhouse/
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Mexican Hill
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LOCATION: 28km E of Schemenaur turnoff; 10km E of Cottonwood Bridge on Hwy 26. This pull-out and historic marker on Hwy 26 is on what was the steepest grade of the original Cariboo Waggon Road.
Named for Antone Parade, a teamster from Mexico who made his living delivering goods to the goldfields, and who tragically lost his life when his sleigh overturned in the area. Right beside Mexican Hill is Lover’s Leap, a steep bluff so named when an 1800s stagecoach driver threatened to drive over the edge unless his sole passenger agreed to marry him. Historical signage present in 2025. Cell phone signal works here. |
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Wingdam
LOCATION: 45km E of Quesnel.
HISTORY: Wingdam, located between Mexican Hill and Robber's Roost along the Barkerville Highway, was a Cariboo Gold Rush-era mining town that developed later than Barkerville around the Lightning Creek gold mines in the early 20th century. The town included bunkhouses, a mill, and a powerhouse, but was abandoned by the 1960s following underground cave-ins and fire damage. Today, no historic structures remain. The site is a restricted industrial mining property where Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. operates an active underground placer gold recovery project, and public access is prohibited due to ongoing mining activities and safety hazards..
HISTORY: Wingdam, located between Mexican Hill and Robber's Roost along the Barkerville Highway, was a Cariboo Gold Rush-era mining town that developed later than Barkerville around the Lightning Creek gold mines in the early 20th century. The town included bunkhouses, a mill, and a powerhouse, but was abandoned by the 1960s following underground cave-ins and fire damage. Today, no historic structures remain. The site is a restricted industrial mining property where Omineca Mining and Metals Ltd. operates an active underground placer gold recovery project, and public access is prohibited due to ongoing mining activities and safety hazards..
Wingdam Mine, 1920
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Wingdam day after mine cave-in, 1938
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Wingdam looking east towards Wells
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Historic photos of Wingdam source: https://ominecaminingandmetals.com/projects/wingdam-project/
Robber's Roost
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LOCATION: 47km E of Quesnel; 36km E of Schemenauer turnoff; 18km E of Cottonwood Bridge on Hwy 26.
Site of an alleged stagecoach hold-up in the 1860s. Outhouses here. |
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Blessing's Grave
LOCATION: 48km E of Quesnel; 37km E of Schemenauer turnoff; 19km E of Cottonwood Bridge on Hwy 26; less than 1km W of Troll Ski Hill.
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE: Blessing's Grave consists of a solitary gravesite with a modest, wooden headboard and a white picket fence enclosure. The site is located on a hillside just off Highway 26 to Barkerville (formerly the Cariboo Wagon Road) near the unincorporated community of Pinegrove, 43 km east of Quesnel, British Columbia. The grave site is surrounded by a forest of native alder and coniferous trees. A parking bay off the highway with a permanent wooden sign marks the access to an uphill 100 yard-long path leading to the grave site. The provincial designation applies to the grave site and the 1.2 acre parcel of land surrounding it.
HERITAGE VALUE: Blessing's Grave is significant as the last resting place of Charles Morgan Blessing, an American miner murdered on the site in 1866 by his Cariboo Wagon Road travelling companion. The site is important as a tangible reminder of the 1860s Cariboo Gold Rush that brought tens of thousands of prospectors and investors from all over the world to this area, and links the establishment and development of the Cariboo region to the feverish quest for gold. The grave has historical and cultural value as evidence of the efficient, organized policing of the area and the law-enforcement and judicial systems that handled murder cases urgently and seriously in extremely remote areas of early British Columbia. It contrasts a Canadian concern for fairness and justice with the disorder of the earlier California Gold Rush.
The site is significant for its association with the historic Cariboo Wagon Road travelled by miners, such as Blessing, on their way to the gold fields. The Cariboo Wagon Road was a crucial transport route constructed between 1862 and 1865 that allowed the interior to be accessed, exploited and settled. The gravesite's location in the forested hillside above the road still recalls the wild, remote setting travellers would have encountered along the Cariboo Wagon Road and the rustic conditions they would have experienced in this area from the 1860s until the 1960s when the road was paved. Blessing's Grave is a reminder of the often-harrowing events and stories associated with the gold rush that took place along the Cariboo Wagon Road between the communities of Quesnel, Barkerville and Wells during the Cariboo's gold bonanza. Its enduring social value is evident in the ongoing marking of and care for the site over many decades by local residents and historical groups, including local MLA Louis Lebourdais and the Cariboo Historical Society.
Source: BC Heritage Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
Additional Information: https://www.barkerville.ca/blessings-grave/
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE: Blessing's Grave consists of a solitary gravesite with a modest, wooden headboard and a white picket fence enclosure. The site is located on a hillside just off Highway 26 to Barkerville (formerly the Cariboo Wagon Road) near the unincorporated community of Pinegrove, 43 km east of Quesnel, British Columbia. The grave site is surrounded by a forest of native alder and coniferous trees. A parking bay off the highway with a permanent wooden sign marks the access to an uphill 100 yard-long path leading to the grave site. The provincial designation applies to the grave site and the 1.2 acre parcel of land surrounding it.
HERITAGE VALUE: Blessing's Grave is significant as the last resting place of Charles Morgan Blessing, an American miner murdered on the site in 1866 by his Cariboo Wagon Road travelling companion. The site is important as a tangible reminder of the 1860s Cariboo Gold Rush that brought tens of thousands of prospectors and investors from all over the world to this area, and links the establishment and development of the Cariboo region to the feverish quest for gold. The grave has historical and cultural value as evidence of the efficient, organized policing of the area and the law-enforcement and judicial systems that handled murder cases urgently and seriously in extremely remote areas of early British Columbia. It contrasts a Canadian concern for fairness and justice with the disorder of the earlier California Gold Rush.
The site is significant for its association with the historic Cariboo Wagon Road travelled by miners, such as Blessing, on their way to the gold fields. The Cariboo Wagon Road was a crucial transport route constructed between 1862 and 1865 that allowed the interior to be accessed, exploited and settled. The gravesite's location in the forested hillside above the road still recalls the wild, remote setting travellers would have encountered along the Cariboo Wagon Road and the rustic conditions they would have experienced in this area from the 1860s until the 1960s when the road was paved. Blessing's Grave is a reminder of the often-harrowing events and stories associated with the gold rush that took place along the Cariboo Wagon Road between the communities of Quesnel, Barkerville and Wells during the Cariboo's gold bonanza. Its enduring social value is evident in the ongoing marking of and care for the site over many decades by local residents and historical groups, including local MLA Louis Lebourdais and the Cariboo Historical Society.
Source: BC Heritage Branch, Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations
Additional Information: https://www.barkerville.ca/blessings-grave/
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Stanley
LOCATION: West entrance to Stanley Loop on Hwy 26, 60km E of Quesnel (junction of Hwy 97 and 26), 16km E of Blessing's Grave, 14km W of Wells. Loop rejoins Hwy 26 2km to the East at Chisholm Creek.
Found along Lightning Creek in British Columbia’s Cariboo region, the ghost town of Stanley is a reminder of the boom-and-bust realities of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Founded in the early 1860s after gold discoveries nearby, Stanley briefly grew into one of the largest settlements in the region, at times rivalling or surpassing nearby Barkerville. The town reflected the diversity and hardships of frontier life, including a significant Chinese mining population whose labour and presence shaped the community. Today, little remains beyond scattered foundations, a weathered cemetery, and the historic (but very weathered) Lightning Hotel, the last standing building from Stanley’s gold rush era. Together, these remnants preserve an important chapter of British Columbia’s mining, transportation, and settlement history, while offering a glimpse into the impermanence of resource towns in the province’s interior.
The cemetery has great signage. You can see that all but 1 or 2 of the Chinese graves were exhumed in the 1940s, with many depressions remaining in the ground, in keeping with their custom of the eventual return of bodies to the land of their birth. Just down the road from the cemetery is the remnants of Stanley on Lightning Creek. The old hotel is still there (but condemned), and the rest of the town is long gone. They pulled a few billion worth of gold from the creek at that spot.
Found along Lightning Creek in British Columbia’s Cariboo region, the ghost town of Stanley is a reminder of the boom-and-bust realities of the Cariboo Gold Rush. Founded in the early 1860s after gold discoveries nearby, Stanley briefly grew into one of the largest settlements in the region, at times rivalling or surpassing nearby Barkerville. The town reflected the diversity and hardships of frontier life, including a significant Chinese mining population whose labour and presence shaped the community. Today, little remains beyond scattered foundations, a weathered cemetery, and the historic (but very weathered) Lightning Hotel, the last standing building from Stanley’s gold rush era. Together, these remnants preserve an important chapter of British Columbia’s mining, transportation, and settlement history, while offering a glimpse into the impermanence of resource towns in the province’s interior.
The cemetery has great signage. You can see that all but 1 or 2 of the Chinese graves were exhumed in the 1940s, with many depressions remaining in the ground, in keeping with their custom of the eventual return of bodies to the land of their birth. Just down the road from the cemetery is the remnants of Stanley on Lightning Creek. The old hotel is still there (but condemned), and the rest of the town is long gone. They pulled a few billion worth of gold from the creek at that spot.
source: https://www.lastditchmining.ca/stanley
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source: https://www.lastditchmining.ca/stanley
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HERITAGE VALUE: The historic place includes the 1870s style road house and lot. The building has historic value for its connection to the Cariboo Gold Rush and Cariboo Waggon Road. The history of the Lightning Hotel goes back to the original Cariboo Gold Rush when in 1873, the first proprietor William Houseman, known as the Duke of York, renamed his Yorkville Saloon “The Lightning Hotel”. It was the last building standing in what was the gold rush town of Stanley.
The present Lightning Hotel dates back to the era of stage coach service (pre-automobile) and is the last remaining building from the La Fontaine/Eleven of England Mine. It is also valued for its location on the original Cariboo Waggon Road.
The present Lightning Hotel dates back to the era of stage coach service (pre-automobile) and is the last remaining building from the La Fontaine/Eleven of England Mine. It is also valued for its location on the original Cariboo Waggon Road.
Van WInkle
LOCATION: 60km E of Quesnel, E of Stanley, at the junction of Chisholm and Lightning Creek. Perhaps accessible on foot No real remnants of the town remaining.
HISTORY: Van Winkle was an early Cariboo Gold Rush town established in 1862 on Lightning Creek near present-day Stanley, British Columbia. It served as a major supply and service centre for local placer miners and at its peak contained hotels, saloons, stores, and other businesses. The town declined as mining activity shifted elsewhere and was largely abandoned after a new road bypassed the community in the 1880s. Today, no historic buildings remain, and only limited archaeological traces of the settlement survive in the forest.
The Lightning Hotel has aesthetic value for its road-house style design and ‘butt and pass’ log construction. The road-house style design is significant for being reminiscent of the Cariboo Waggon Road and gold rush era. It is also valued for being built with logs squared on three sides as it is the only known building in the area that was built with logs milled in this fashion. Source: https://pub-crd.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=19613
HISTORY: Van Winkle was an early Cariboo Gold Rush town established in 1862 on Lightning Creek near present-day Stanley, British Columbia. It served as a major supply and service centre for local placer miners and at its peak contained hotels, saloons, stores, and other businesses. The town declined as mining activity shifted elsewhere and was largely abandoned after a new road bypassed the community in the 1880s. Today, no historic buildings remain, and only limited archaeological traces of the settlement survive in the forest.
The Lightning Hotel has aesthetic value for its road-house style design and ‘butt and pass’ log construction. The road-house style design is significant for being reminiscent of the Cariboo Waggon Road and gold rush era. It is also valued for being built with logs squared on three sides as it is the only known building in the area that was built with logs milled in this fashion. Source: https://pub-crd.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=19613
Location of Van Winkle (Ghost Town)
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Van Winkle Pioneers. https://www.cariboogoldrush.com/towns/winkle.htm
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Hydraulic Mining near Van Winkle
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Devil's CanyonLOCATION: 2.5km E of the east entrance to Stanley Road; 7km W of Wells.
Devil’s Canyon is a rugged, gold-bearing area located near Wells, BC, on the western edge of the Barkerville Gold Belt. Connected to the famous Cariboo Gold Rush, this steep and hostile terrain was prized by stubborn prospectors for yielding exceptionally coarse gold when more accessible claims dried up. Bill Brown, an old-timer during the gold rush, built "Coopers Cabin" near Groundhog Lake and had a job of keeping the snow cleared in Devils Canyon by welding two snow shovels together to do the job faster. The canyon presented a serious engineering challenge when the road to Barkerville was re-routed from the southern path that came into Barkerville via Richfield. |
Historic photo of Devil's canyon. Source: https://bcgoldadventures.com/lightning-creek/
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Wells
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Built as a company town for Fred Wells' Gold Quartz Mine in the 1930's and once served as a major centre of northern BC. Wells had two hockey teams, a golf course, a baseball team, a horse racetrack and a world-renowned ski hill. The Wells Community hall hosted numerous events from community plays, to community dances and badminton games. Wells reached its largest population size of over 4000 in the 1940s and then began to dwindle once the two gold mines closed. The town takes pride in its history and many of the unique heritage buildings have been preserved and restored. source: https://www.wells.ca/
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Check out the Frog in the Bog Cafe on the Hwy, including the Marble Run, and lots of neat buildings and artists places in the main part of town on the hill. Town was (and is) still invested in mining, but also has a big arts focus, in part due to the desire of the original founder that miners to have another trade or artisanship to fall back on during boom and bust cycles. There is a bog walk off of Dawson Street (near the 90-yr-old school) that is worth a stroll on the boardwalk, about 600m each way. It ends up at a forest classroom.
Originally established in the 1930s as a company town serving nearby gold mines, Wells, British Columbia, experienced economic decline following the collapse of large-scale mining in the mid-twentieth century. Over the past several decades, however, the community has gradually redefined itself as a regional centre for arts and culture. Organizations such as Island Mountain Arts and events including the ArtsWells Festival have attracted artists, performers, writers, and visitors from across British Columbia and beyond, contributing to the town’s cultural and economic revitalization. Today, Wells is widely recognized for its unusually high concentration of artists, galleries, studios, festivals, and creative programming relative to its small population, representing a notable example of a former resource town adapting through arts-based community development and cultural tourism.
Fred Wells: Prospector & Adventurer - source: https://wellshistoricalsociety.ca/sketch/fred-wells-prospector-adventurer/
Prospector, miner, and adventurer Fred Marshall Wells was born in Whitefield, New Hampshire on August 4, 1861. There are conflicting reports as to how Fred ended up in British Columbia in 1882. One story tells of Fred crossing over the Rocky Mountains from Calgary on a pony “just to see what lay on the other side of the mountains.” Another story says he came into the Windemere area to look after a ranch owned by a fellow he met in Calgary and that he left his employer to go prospecting shortly after arriving. Either way, his compulsive mining career began once he arrived in BC and Fred Wells became one of the leaders of the Second Cariboo Gold Rush.
Full of energy and spirit, Fred was involved in a variety of mining enterprises – from prospecting on the Columbia River at Spillamacheen to developing the Nickel Plate Mine near Rossland – before he came to the future site of Wells. Fred was first interested in the Proserpine area in 1922, but was unable to finance exploration at the time. That same year William C. Drake, an artist and prospector from California, ventured to the Cariboo Mountains and found a large, exposed outcropping of gold-bearing quartz. Drake sent a sample for assaying that yielded results of $3520 in gold per tonne of quartz. Drake then met with a broker friend in Seattle who arranged for Fred Wells to meet with Drake in the Cariboo to look at Drake’s find. Drake did not arrive on the arranged date, however, and when he finally did show up a few weeks later Fred had already made a discovery of his own on nearby Cow Mountain.
Al Sanders, a resident of Seattle, had singlehandedly taken more than three thousand dollars from the famous Sanders Vein on the surface of Cow Mountain. Sanders was unable to continue with further development due to poor health, but had great faith in his old friend Fred Wells. Fred built a cabin and for the next four years successfully prospected Sanders’s claims, along with seven adjoining claims. He crushed the quartz by hand and then separated the gold by panning the resulting pulp and gravel. Fred’s initial belief in these claims produced more than three thousand dollars. Fred later purchased the Rainbow claims at the northeast end of Jack O’ Clubs Lake from Sanders in 1927, as well as five adjoining claims owned by Charles Law and Bob Clark. Fred used stock in the newly formed “Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company” instead of cash to pay Sanders for his claims.
The original Cariboo Gold Quartz (CGQ) was located at the lower end of Jack of Clubs Lake, on the north side of Cow Mountain. The CGQ began as a syndicate, formed in the fall of 1926 by Dr. Will Burnett, Mr. Fred Wells, and Mr. Oscar Solibakke. It later became a limited company. Fred originally filled the role of Director, but later took on the lesser position of Manager in order to pursue other prospects. Fred Marshall Wells was 65 years old when the Cariboo Gold Quartz venture began. While associated with the CGQ, Fred was in charge of all company development, and was known to display integrity to anyone who met him. Prospecting was Fred’s life and his dogged pursuit of gold made him a legend in mining communities throughout British Columbia. He was “Fred M. Wells, “the wizard of the Cariboo” [Evening Guide, September 2, 1933].
Originally established in the 1930s as a company town serving nearby gold mines, Wells, British Columbia, experienced economic decline following the collapse of large-scale mining in the mid-twentieth century. Over the past several decades, however, the community has gradually redefined itself as a regional centre for arts and culture. Organizations such as Island Mountain Arts and events including the ArtsWells Festival have attracted artists, performers, writers, and visitors from across British Columbia and beyond, contributing to the town’s cultural and economic revitalization. Today, Wells is widely recognized for its unusually high concentration of artists, galleries, studios, festivals, and creative programming relative to its small population, representing a notable example of a former resource town adapting through arts-based community development and cultural tourism.
Fred Wells: Prospector & Adventurer - source: https://wellshistoricalsociety.ca/sketch/fred-wells-prospector-adventurer/
Prospector, miner, and adventurer Fred Marshall Wells was born in Whitefield, New Hampshire on August 4, 1861. There are conflicting reports as to how Fred ended up in British Columbia in 1882. One story tells of Fred crossing over the Rocky Mountains from Calgary on a pony “just to see what lay on the other side of the mountains.” Another story says he came into the Windemere area to look after a ranch owned by a fellow he met in Calgary and that he left his employer to go prospecting shortly after arriving. Either way, his compulsive mining career began once he arrived in BC and Fred Wells became one of the leaders of the Second Cariboo Gold Rush.
Full of energy and spirit, Fred was involved in a variety of mining enterprises – from prospecting on the Columbia River at Spillamacheen to developing the Nickel Plate Mine near Rossland – before he came to the future site of Wells. Fred was first interested in the Proserpine area in 1922, but was unable to finance exploration at the time. That same year William C. Drake, an artist and prospector from California, ventured to the Cariboo Mountains and found a large, exposed outcropping of gold-bearing quartz. Drake sent a sample for assaying that yielded results of $3520 in gold per tonne of quartz. Drake then met with a broker friend in Seattle who arranged for Fred Wells to meet with Drake in the Cariboo to look at Drake’s find. Drake did not arrive on the arranged date, however, and when he finally did show up a few weeks later Fred had already made a discovery of his own on nearby Cow Mountain.
Al Sanders, a resident of Seattle, had singlehandedly taken more than three thousand dollars from the famous Sanders Vein on the surface of Cow Mountain. Sanders was unable to continue with further development due to poor health, but had great faith in his old friend Fred Wells. Fred built a cabin and for the next four years successfully prospected Sanders’s claims, along with seven adjoining claims. He crushed the quartz by hand and then separated the gold by panning the resulting pulp and gravel. Fred’s initial belief in these claims produced more than three thousand dollars. Fred later purchased the Rainbow claims at the northeast end of Jack O’ Clubs Lake from Sanders in 1927, as well as five adjoining claims owned by Charles Law and Bob Clark. Fred used stock in the newly formed “Cariboo Gold Quartz Mining Company” instead of cash to pay Sanders for his claims.
The original Cariboo Gold Quartz (CGQ) was located at the lower end of Jack of Clubs Lake, on the north side of Cow Mountain. The CGQ began as a syndicate, formed in the fall of 1926 by Dr. Will Burnett, Mr. Fred Wells, and Mr. Oscar Solibakke. It later became a limited company. Fred originally filled the role of Director, but later took on the lesser position of Manager in order to pursue other prospects. Fred Marshall Wells was 65 years old when the Cariboo Gold Quartz venture began. While associated with the CGQ, Fred was in charge of all company development, and was known to display integrity to anyone who met him. Prospecting was Fred’s life and his dogged pursuit of gold made him a legend in mining communities throughout British Columbia. He was “Fred M. Wells, “the wizard of the Cariboo” [Evening Guide, September 2, 1933].
Bowron Lakes
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LOCATION: Turn-off just before Barkerville, 5.4km E of Wells.
From the turn-off it is 25km down hill to the developed area of the lakes, featuring private and provincial campgrounds, BC Parks interpretive centre, Becker's Lodge, etc. Folks can rent canoes and equipment there by the hour, day, or week. Go for a paddle and see what all the fuss is about! This chain of lakes is world-renowned for canoeing adventures, and is often used by outdoor education classes in regional schools. With proper organization, a one or two day paddle on the West side could be incorporated into a field excursion to the Goldfields. "Bowron Lake Park is a large wilderness area on the western slopes of the Cariboo Mountain Range. The world-renowned Bowron Lake Canoe Circuit is a 116 km chain of waterways and connecting land. The full circuit takes between six and 10 days to complete. For a shorter trip, the West Side of the circuit can be paddled in two-to-four days. It is recommended that only people with some wilderness canoeing experience attempt the circuit." https://bcparks.ca/bowron-lake-park/ |
Source: https://outandacross.com/bowron-lake-canoe-circuit/
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Barkerville Cemetery
Established during the 1860s Cariboo Gold Rush, the Barkerville Cemetery is a rustic, sub-alpine burial site holding the remains of early prospectors, miners, and settlers. It is located above Williams Creek and is recognized as a Provincial Heritage Property and registered archaeological site.
Here's a short guide to some of the Notable Stories at the Barkerville Cemetery (pdf). This is a work-in-progress and owes much to the scholarship of Richard Wright, author, historian, filmmaker, and former co-operator of the Theatre Royal.
Here's a short guide to some of the Notable Stories at the Barkerville Cemetery (pdf). This is a work-in-progress and owes much to the scholarship of Richard Wright, author, historian, filmmaker, and former co-operator of the Theatre Royal.
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The cemetery is one-of-a-kind, possibly the most narrative-dense graveyard in Canada. It's just up the hill at the back end of the Barkerville parking lot when you first arrive, to the right of the four cottages on the edge of the parking lot. It's worth looking up some of the names of the dozens of notable people buried at the cemetery, each with compelling stories. Here's one:
John Fraser, son of explorer Simon Fraser, was buried in Barkerville. Video - Grave of J.A. Fraser in the Barkerville Cemetery. As the story goes, Fraser headed west from Canada West (Ontario) to Barkerville after his father died without leaving much of an estate. John was a troubled soul, and hit rock bottom when his main claim appeared to be useless, the mortgage on his family farm back in "Ontario" was foreclosed, and he was rejected by the love of his life. He committed suicide in 1865, and it was during his funeral when news came out to the cemetery that his claim had struck it rich. Right place at the wrong time, I guess. |
Barkerville Cemetery (photo: public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
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Barkerville Goldtown
Source: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/barkerville
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Source: https://thenorthernview.com/
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LOCATION: 86km E of Quesnel; 7km E of Wells.
Barkerville was established in 1862 after Cornish sailor William "Billy" Barker struck massive gold deposits in British Columbia's Cariboo Mountains. The resulting frenzy built the town overnight, briefly making it the largest settlement west of Chicago and north of San Francisco, or so it was claimed. Today, it survives as Western North America's largest living-history museum, with an array of activities to connect people with land and history.
When you arrive at the Visitor Centre, takes some time to read the activities pamphlet and town map - there is a lot to do and build a schedule around; hard to fit it all into a day. Also, check out the A.Y Jackson painting in the Visitor Centre - how often do you get to see a double-sided original Group of Seven. I'd recommend squeezing in as many of the little interpretive activities as you can (e.g. schoolhouse lesson, blacksmith demo, Cornish Wheel, main town tour or Chinatown tour, etc.). Theatre Royal show is very good. Goldpanning at El Dorado or the Stagecoach ride are worth doing at least once. Wake Up Jake and Lung Duck Tong are both good restaurants. The Indigenous Interpreters have a little building that hosts artifacts and conversations, and they do drumming outside the Activities Pavillion to start the day.
HISTORY: From https://www.barkerville.ca/ourstory/. Barkerville is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Lhtako Dene Nation and Secwépemc Peoples. Several nations have history and territory in the area, including Lhtako Dene, Nazko, Lhoosk’uz, Ulkatcho, ʔEsdilagh, Xatśūll, Simpcw, and Lheidli T’enneh. Evidence of early Indigenous settlement in the region dates back over 10,000 years.
As with many early miners, Barker’s story began in the American gold fields in the mid-1800s where people from all over the world travelled to seek their fortune. By the mid-1850s, gold finds were slowing and rumours began to surface of ‘easy gold’ on the Fraser River. Barker had worked without much success in California and so he, along with thousands of men, headed north to the British territory that is now British Columbia. In addition to the north-bound travellers, groups later called “The Overlanders” trekked across Canada from the East, and hordes of people were arriving by boat from all over the world to travel up the Gold Trail from the coast towards to Fraser River to find fortune.
Eventually, prospectors made their way to the hills that surround Barkerville and one of the first finds was by William “Dutch Bill” Dietz, for whom Williams Creek (which flows through Barkerville) is named. A small town began to spring up around the area, optimistically named Richfield. Barker eventually ended up in Richfield, trying his hand at a few spots around William’s Creek where his lack of success continued. As time passed, he decided to mine further down the creek, in the area below Richfield. Many people questioned his decision, saying he would find no gold there. But Barker persisted and endured, and was finally proven right on August 17, 1862, when he and his crew ‘struck the lead,’ at a depth of 52 feet.
As a result, Barkerville became a cornerstone in the development of Canada and the founding of British Columbia. It is the site of the first-ever Dominion Day celebration and is the town that supplies the Cariboo gold rush. By the mid-1880s, Chinese residents made up half of the Cariboo region’s population. Nowhere is this more evident than Barkerville’s Chinatown: home to the oldest Chee Kung Tong building in Canada and the most extensive collection of Chinese buildings, photographs, and artifacts in North America. Gold mining is a boom and bust industry but in the Cariboo Goldfields, mining has never stopped. The region experienced a gold rush rebirth in the 20th century and the neighbouring town of Wells sprang up to house over 4,000 residents.
Today, the extraordinary town of Barkerville (named in Billy’s honour) still stands as testament to BC’s golden beginnings. With a unique streetscape of 125+ heritage buildings, authentic displays, satellite museums, restaurants, shops and accommodations there is still so much to explore. Declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924 and a Provincial Heritage Property in 1958, Barkerville is now the largest living-history museum in western North America, where exciting seasonal events and fun-filled daily activities await.
Barkerville was established in 1862 after Cornish sailor William "Billy" Barker struck massive gold deposits in British Columbia's Cariboo Mountains. The resulting frenzy built the town overnight, briefly making it the largest settlement west of Chicago and north of San Francisco, or so it was claimed. Today, it survives as Western North America's largest living-history museum, with an array of activities to connect people with land and history.
When you arrive at the Visitor Centre, takes some time to read the activities pamphlet and town map - there is a lot to do and build a schedule around; hard to fit it all into a day. Also, check out the A.Y Jackson painting in the Visitor Centre - how often do you get to see a double-sided original Group of Seven. I'd recommend squeezing in as many of the little interpretive activities as you can (e.g. schoolhouse lesson, blacksmith demo, Cornish Wheel, main town tour or Chinatown tour, etc.). Theatre Royal show is very good. Goldpanning at El Dorado or the Stagecoach ride are worth doing at least once. Wake Up Jake and Lung Duck Tong are both good restaurants. The Indigenous Interpreters have a little building that hosts artifacts and conversations, and they do drumming outside the Activities Pavillion to start the day.
HISTORY: From https://www.barkerville.ca/ourstory/. Barkerville is located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Lhtako Dene Nation and Secwépemc Peoples. Several nations have history and territory in the area, including Lhtako Dene, Nazko, Lhoosk’uz, Ulkatcho, ʔEsdilagh, Xatśūll, Simpcw, and Lheidli T’enneh. Evidence of early Indigenous settlement in the region dates back over 10,000 years.
As with many early miners, Barker’s story began in the American gold fields in the mid-1800s where people from all over the world travelled to seek their fortune. By the mid-1850s, gold finds were slowing and rumours began to surface of ‘easy gold’ on the Fraser River. Barker had worked without much success in California and so he, along with thousands of men, headed north to the British territory that is now British Columbia. In addition to the north-bound travellers, groups later called “The Overlanders” trekked across Canada from the East, and hordes of people were arriving by boat from all over the world to travel up the Gold Trail from the coast towards to Fraser River to find fortune.
Eventually, prospectors made their way to the hills that surround Barkerville and one of the first finds was by William “Dutch Bill” Dietz, for whom Williams Creek (which flows through Barkerville) is named. A small town began to spring up around the area, optimistically named Richfield. Barker eventually ended up in Richfield, trying his hand at a few spots around William’s Creek where his lack of success continued. As time passed, he decided to mine further down the creek, in the area below Richfield. Many people questioned his decision, saying he would find no gold there. But Barker persisted and endured, and was finally proven right on August 17, 1862, when he and his crew ‘struck the lead,’ at a depth of 52 feet.
As a result, Barkerville became a cornerstone in the development of Canada and the founding of British Columbia. It is the site of the first-ever Dominion Day celebration and is the town that supplies the Cariboo gold rush. By the mid-1880s, Chinese residents made up half of the Cariboo region’s population. Nowhere is this more evident than Barkerville’s Chinatown: home to the oldest Chee Kung Tong building in Canada and the most extensive collection of Chinese buildings, photographs, and artifacts in North America. Gold mining is a boom and bust industry but in the Cariboo Goldfields, mining has never stopped. The region experienced a gold rush rebirth in the 20th century and the neighbouring town of Wells sprang up to house over 4,000 residents.
Today, the extraordinary town of Barkerville (named in Billy’s honour) still stands as testament to BC’s golden beginnings. With a unique streetscape of 125+ heritage buildings, authentic displays, satellite museums, restaurants, shops and accommodations there is still so much to explore. Declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924 and a Provincial Heritage Property in 1958, Barkerville is now the largest living-history museum in western North America, where exciting seasonal events and fun-filled daily activities await.
Click the map for full resolution map with key: https://www.barkerville.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Universal-Numbers-Map-2025.pdf
Richfield Ghost Town and CourthouseRichfield is 1.5km up the hill at the end of town past Chinatown.
It is worth the walk up to see the courthouse; maybe try some "RePhotography" with one of the many historic photos of Richfield available online juxtaposed with the modern landscape. Depending on the snowpack, they do the courthouse drama up there or back in town at the church or schoolhouse. There is a Chinese cemetery part way up the hill. "The Richfield Courthouse is a one storey gable-roofed wood frame building situated in a remote and densely wooded area in a narrow valley along the west bank of Williams Creek. It is located approximately two kilometres south of Barkerville in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. The courthouse is valued as one of the earliest manifestations of the English Common Law judicial system in British Columbia. Constructed in 1882 on the site of an earlier court building, Richfield Courthouse reflects the continued need for regulation and authority which arose in the gold-rush mining towns of the interior of British Columbia during colonial times." "Originally constructed in the once prosperous mining town of Richfield, the now remote and solitary location of this historic place – in an area where most other physical evidence of habitation lies in ruins – is a significant reminder of the transitory nature of non-native settlement and centres of government in nineteenth century British Columbia. The architectural design of the courthouse is also notable as it provides insight into the functional nature of early public works in British Columbia. Constructed as a more permanent and staid replacement to its log predecessors, the exterior form of the courthouse was designed to accommodate severe winter snowfalls, and the interior was planned to provide superior facilities for the judiciary, jury, and the legal processes of both the Supreme and County courts." |
Source for text and photo: https://www.barkerville.ca/richfield/
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richfield,_British_Columbia
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Green Dragons and White Tigers on Gold Mountain
Research on the History of Feng Shui in the Goldfields, including a survey of Barkerville's Architecture and the Graveyards at Atanlyu and Richfield.
PDF Green Dragons and White Tigers | WEB: https://www.cariboogoldrush.com/barker/larry.htm
PDF Green Dragons and White Tigers | WEB: https://www.cariboogoldrush.com/barker/larry.htm
Activites
In addition to the town-based opportunities in Barkerville such as Blacksmith Demos, Schoolhouse Lessons, Cornish Wheel Demo, Chinatown tour, Indigenous Interpretation, Gold Panning, Show at the Theatre Royal, a field excursion to Barkerville present many opportunities for place-responsive learning. Examples might include conducing a Soundwalk in Bakerville, engaging in Narrative Fossicking at Blessing's Grave, conducting a Community Inquiry in Wells, trying RePhotography at Richfield, or using ArtStart at the Stanley Cemetery. These and other student-friendly ventures are explained in the Place-responsive Learning Section of the Story and Place site found here: https://www.thielmann.ca/place-responsive-learning.html
Links
Barkerville BC Official site: https://www.barkerville.ca/
Barkerville History at the Canadian Encyclopedia: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/barkerville
BC An Untold History | Barkerville's Chinatown: https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1860/barkervilles-chinatown
Check out this amazing collection of Barkerville backstories: Bonepicker - Youtube page - @GoldRushBackstories
The Story of Van Winkle (Ghost Town) https://www.cariboogoldrush.com/towns/winkle.htm
Barkerville History at the Canadian Encyclopedia: https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/barkerville
BC An Untold History | Barkerville's Chinatown: https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1860/barkervilles-chinatown
Check out this amazing collection of Barkerville backstories: Bonepicker - Youtube page - @GoldRushBackstories
The Story of Van Winkle (Ghost Town) https://www.cariboogoldrush.com/towns/winkle.htm