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Barkerville |
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Barkerville Map |
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Now a heritage site visited by thousands each
year, Barkerville was once a thriving town based
on the plentiful gold supplies brought in by the
local prospectors.
The British Columbian gold rush began with the
discovery of gold along the Fraser River in the
late 1850’s. As the gold supplies dwindled in
the lower Fraser, prospectors followed the river
up north to the Cariboo region.
In 1862, Billy Barker came out to try his luck
along Williams Creek. While most gold
prospecting at that point had been found in
shallow surface excavations, Billy thought he’d
find more if he dug deeper. He was right.
At 42 feet, he found the richest excavation ever
found in that area. |
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As word spread throughout British Columbia, then
the Northern US, then North America, and then
worldwide, prospectors rushed to stake their
claims in this prosperous area. Over 100,000
people traveled the Cariboo Wagon Road in search
of fame and fortune. |
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As the numbers of prospectors swelled, so did
the towns that sprang up to serve them. One of
the most important boom towns which came into
existence was Barkerville, found just west of
Billy Barker’s original claim. As the town grew,
sturdy log and board buildings replaced the
original tents and cabins. Saloons,
dancehalls, general stores and boarding houses
sprang into existence to meet the needs of the
miners. When the Cariboo Wagon Road was
completed in 1865, several stagecoach companies
began operating regular lines, taking passengers
as far as Yale. Some even claimed at the time
that Barkerville would soon be the largest city
west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. |
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To illustrate the importance of this town to the
mining community at that time, in 1868, a large
fire destroyed about 90% of the town. Most
residences and hotels were left as charred
rubble, and, to make matters worse, most of the
supplies in the town were burned to a crisp. If
this had been any ordinary mining town, one
might assume that the miners may have left the
area, and started afresh somewhere close by.
However, within six weeks of the fire, over 90%
of the buildings were replaced. |
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When the boom years began to peter out in 1872,
Barkerville remained open as a supply town to
the neighboring gold mines. In the 1930’s,
Barkerville supplied the hard rock mines in the
area. However, the new mining town of Wells,
with better access to the newly created highway
began supplanting Barkerville as the supply
line.
Taken over by the Provincial Government in 1958,
Barkerville’s heritage buildings were restored,
and turned into one of Canada’s largest
historical sites. Today, you may wander through
a mix of original buildings and historically
accurate reproduction. The “living history” of
the town allows to you to question “residents”
about life in the 1870’s. Barkerville may no
longer be a mining town, but every summer, the
glorious days of the gold rush comes back to
life. |
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