Gold Escort costly gold rush endeavor

The Hudson’s Bay Company had known about gold finds on the Fraser River since early in 1856, and they had kept word of this to themselves, quietly sending gold which had come in on trade to Fort Langley for safekeeping. However, when the company had amassed some 800 oz. of gold, they sent it to San…

The Great Barkerville Fire of 1868

This latest instalment of Haphazard History, written by Barry Sale, revisits the historic Barkerville fire of 1868. During its peak, the gold rush town of Barkerville had more than 10,00 residents who lived in wooden buildings that were clustered in a haphazard manner along its main street in the …

The History of the Fraser River Bridge

The iconic bridge over the Fraser River some 25 kilometres west of Williams Lake on Highway 20, sometimes referred to as “the gateway to the Chilcotin” has an interesting and colourful history. For eons, a natural slowing of the current in that area of the river made for a suitable crossing site. …

Frederick Dally - Gold Rush photographer

In August of 1866, Dally accompanied the Governor of the Colony, Arthur Edward Kennedy, aboard the H.M.S. Scout as they circumnavigated Vancouver Island and stopped off at many First Nations villages. His photographs taken on this trip especially those from Fort Rupert (Port Hardy), Comox, Cowichan…

The First Tourists to the Cariboo

The earliest recorded tourism visit to the Cariboo was by two English gentlemen, Lord Viscount Milton and Doctor Walter B. Cheadle. Lord Milton was a young, willful aristocrat who had decided that he wanted to see Canada for himself, and Dr. Cheadle was retained by the Milton family to escort the …

The Mad Russian's Island Mystery

About a quarter mile south of Rudy’s Bridge, right in the middle of the Fraser River, there lies a small island with a steep, rocky shoreline on three sides and a gradual rocky beach in its lee. It’s accessible in winter, and sometimes when the river is really low, but most of the time it’s surrou…

Stagecoach Robberies on the BC Express

For more than 50 years, from 1863 until 1917, the red and yellow B.C. Express Company’s stagecoaches transported mail, express, and passengers from Yale to Barkerville, an 800 mile return trip. With the completion of the CPR Railway in 1886, however, the new community of Ashcroft became the major …

Thomas Menefee - Gold Rush entrepreneur

Thomas Menefee, according to his grave marker, was born in Kentucky, but some historians believe he was a native of Missouri. He migrated west to the California goldfields in the early 1850’s, but the land was already staked and that gold rush was largely finished. Menefee joined the many goldseeke…