The Cariboo Road

• Bought defibrillators (AED’s) at nearly $2,000 per unit for the site in 2019, 2020. • Sponsored the spring The Phoenix Tour of the Newman & Wright’s 2019 Theatre Royal production: Mrs. McGinley’s Gold Rush Variety Show for communities impacted by wildfire in 2017/2018: site and regional promotion. • Bought electric medi-scooters for the site at nearly $4,000 per unit in 2018. • Donated $5,000 toward the Barker Company Shafthouse construction in 2015 (director Lana Fox had the honour of cutting the ribbon during the opening ceremonies), and $5,000 towards the Bonepicker: Gold Rush Backstories documentary series promoting the site and region. • Hauled in and donated the Boiler (sitting beside the stamp mill) in 2014. • Donated $5,000 towards wheel-chair accessibility from Barkerville to the cemetery (including benches). • Donated $20,000 to the Canadian Claim revitalization in 2013. Installed the three-panelled signage at Stanley. The Friends were also instrumental in securing a grant to continue employing interpretive performance staff in the site. but were sold by the Friends through their office in the Barkerville Hotel. These shares accumulated $6,000 toward the wheel and Canadian Claim restoration. The Friends donated an additional $16,000 towards the wheel’s construction in 2006. Perhaps their greatest contributions, however, were their lobbying and their critical connections to West Fraser who donated the lumber, and to the Quesnel Antique Mill who milled the lumber, ultimately reducing the completed Cornish Waterwheel project cost by thousands. • The Friends were the primary distributor of the 2006 republication of Bill Hong’s And So That’s How It Happened… • Received the Fred Ludditt Achievement Award in recognition of contributions to Barkerville’s Development in 2000.

• Undertook the extensive and exhausting revitalization, marking, documenting, and mapping of the 1861 Goldrush Pack Trail (with thanks to the Goldrush Cycling Club who helped us brush a portion of the trail). Thank you to all of our directors, members, benefactors, and volunteers over the years. We’ve done so much together, and yet there’s always more to do. Good friends can always use a helping hand in order to lend a helping hand.

• Built the kiosk at Stanley and added new informational signage across from the cemetery in 2017. • Donated $5,000 towards the Richfield Cemetery project in 2016, as well as two bicycle stands for the VRC complete with combination locks and instructional material, and $2,000 for the construction of replacement headboards in the Stanley Cemetery (custom built by Andrew Glitherow). • Brought in a steel bridge (donated from Dunkley Mills through the Friends) for accessibility to Canadian Claim over Williams creek in 2010.

• Donated $19,000 towards repair of the stamp mill, and $10,000 for repair and stabilisation at Barkerville cemetery in 2008. • Fundraised and contributed extensively to the construction of the (new at the time) Cornish Waterwheel and sold souvenir shares to the Canadian Claim for $5. The souvenir shares were playfully shilled by interpreters in conjunction with the Waterwheel Show,

By River Nelson The story of the Cariboo Gold Rush has been told many times over. Characters such as the formidable Judge Begbie and the fortunate Billy Barker have become famous for their roles in the history of the Cariboo Gold Rush. There are many stories about those motivated by the promise of unimaginable fortune who travelled far from home to the distant Cariboo Goldfields. These stories often overshadow the influential story in the history of the Cariboo Gold Rush: the construction of the Cariboo Road. Had there been no gold rush, it is unlikely that there would be a highway through the heartland of British Columbia. The Cariboo Gold Rush began in 1858 when word spread in San Francisco that gold had been found in the Fraser River. Thousands of miners rushed to the Fraser River and eventually worked their way up into the Cariboo. The trail into the Cariboo was narrow at this time so the cost of transporting supplies into the Cariboo was extremely high. This created the need for a road into the Cariboo that was viable and efficient.

Governor James Douglas recognized the necessity for a road to the Cariboo and work commenced on the project in May 1862. The plan to build the four hundred mile road was daring and would require quarrying great expanses of rock across canyons of the Fraser River. The road would span over a distance of four hundred miles and cross through sheer rock and over mighty torrents. Although this project would present many challenges, Governor Douglas believed that it was a paramount duty of the government to provide an accessible means of transport into the Cariboo. The project was built by men from all walks of life with pickaxes and shovels. The project unfortunately did not proceed without significant problems. The contractors found it difficult to find enough men because many had left to follow the wild rumours of the untold riches the Cariboo had to offer. A violent outbreak of smallpox made matters worse by decreasing the supply of available workers even lower. The Cariboo Road that spanned four hundred miles between Yale and Barkerville was completed in the fall of 1865. The road was the pride of British Columbia and an instant success. It would promote the initial development of numerous communities a cross British Columbia and withstand the heavy burden of gold being transported from the Cariboo Goldfields. There are numerous old legends associated with the Cariboo Gold Rush that have been proven false: that Billy Barker was a member of the Royal Navy who deserted to follow the gold rush, that Barkerville was a crimeless gold rush society, and many others. A legend that would prove to be completely true is that camels once carried supplies across the Cariboo Road. Twenty-three camels that had been imported from the Gobi Desert in East Asia were sold to an entrepreneur named John Calbreath who intended to use them for the transport of supplies from Lillooet to Alexandria. The idea was that since camels had worked well during the California Gold Rush, they would work just as well in the Cariboo. John Calbreath believed that camels would have an advantage over mules because they could carry twice as much. The harsh terrain of the Cariboo unfortunately proved to be difficult for camels and one of the camels stumbled off a cliff on the first trip. The owners also received many complaints from passerby as their horses would bolt in terror at the sight of the camels. The camels were soon to be retired and taken in at several different ranches.

The Cariboo Road has seen wagons, coaches, camels, mules, and the earliest steam traction engine used in North America. The road has echoed the steady steps of travellers far from home and the swift gallop of the outlaw’s horse. The road has listened to the lamentations of the disappointed and to the joy of the lucky few who struck it rich. The road is a road of history that has lasted many generations and still operates today as the Cariboo Highway. Sources and References were provided with this essay submission.

–Lana Fox, Brendan Bailey, and Friends of Barkerville past and present

FOB-CGHS SCHOLARSHIP (in memory of Jerry Macdonald)

The Friends would first like to thank Ruby Nicholas and River Nelson for their submissions, and to congratulate them both for being awarded this year’s Jerry MacDonald Scholarship. Ruby Nicholas’ Letter to Mifflin Gibbs from the perspective of Rebecca Gibbs appeared in our last newsletter.