Historic Yale
Eco Escape Travel
Originally established in 1848 as a Hudson’s Bay Trading Post, the small town of Yale grew to an estimated 30,000 people during the 1858 gold rush, then the largest city north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. In the 1860s, with the construction of the Cariboo Waggon Road, Yale became the terminus for one of the largest sternwheeler routes in North America and in the 1880s, Yale was the construction headquarters of the Canadian Pacific Railway. History buffs can explore the Yale Historic Site, which preserves local historic treasures and celebrates gold rush history in the area. Check out Creighton House, tent city (1858) and see Saint John the Divine (1863), one of the oldest surviving churches in BC. Yale is packed full of Gold Rush Trail history with every turn. While you’re there, stop in at the Ward Tea House, pan for gold at one of the few panning areas on the Fraser River, visit the Pioneer Cemetery or the Spirit Caves Trail, plan a day or multi-day rafting trip on the Fraser and if you have time, stay the night at the original 1880’s family home of Johnny Ward.
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YALE HISTORIC SITE