Come and experience Historical Barkerville in BC

On our Alaska adventure we had the pleasure of visiting one of British Columbia’s largest historic sites, the town of Barkerville! As the story goes, it began with Billy Barker’s discovery of gold on Williams Creek back in 1862. This triggered a stampede of thousands of gold seekers and miners to this area. This lasted for over 8 years. These gold seekers traveled the Cariboo Wagon Road which by the way is named the “Eighth Wonder of the World”, and then finally arrived in Barkerville and the gold fields.

Barkerville was a typical gold rush town, a jumble of log and false fronted shanties perched on stilts along a narrow muddy street. There were businesses of every type which sprung into existence. They provided for the needs of the miners and profited from their earnings. Then in 1868 Barkerville burned to the ground, and was soon rebuilt, but it’s glory days were beginning to fade. The Wells-Barkerville area experienced a second gold rush in the 1930’s, and in 1958 Barkerville became a heritage site. Gold beyond the wildest of dreams. Love, murder and lots of mischief. Barkerville is rich in stories as it once was in gold. The best part is that you can experience it yourself firsthand.

Rich in history, scenic beauty and hospitality, this route from Hope to Barkerville has been traveled for thousands of years. First Nations, fur traders, gold seekers, Royal Engineers and railroaders have all left their mark on this unique landscape. One of the Gold Rush Trails which is the one that we traveled on began at Hope and ended at Barkerville. Along the way and our very first stop for the night was in a small town called Clinton. What an experience that was. It was a small park called Gold Rush RV Park. The owner was the cashier, office manager and cook. He told us about the BBQ dinner he was serving that evening and of course we asked, “what are you going to bbq?”. He smirked and said “roadkill”. We laughed and then of course he told us it was salmon and ribs. It was really good. Some of the other towns on this trail were 70 Mile House, 100 Mile House, Williams Lake, Soda Creek, Quesnel, Cottonwood House, Wells and then historical Barkerville. Take in it’s history, after visiting Barkerville, you will never be the same.

Lets go back to simpler time, so grab your back pack make sure you bring some water, you will be doing a bit of walking – and take in the history, but remember to enjoy yourself.

When you first step foot into this old town it's as if you had gone back in time or entered a set of a western movie. There are 125 restored heritiage buildings in this quaint little town, and the first thing that catches your attention to your left is the Eldorado Gold Panning and gift shop. You do need to stop in there, they have very cool souvenirs and you can pan for gold there for a small charge. I tried it and had a blast. Of course my very tiny little speckles of gold didn’t get me much, but it was fun just the same.

After leaving the gift shop as you begin to walk down the street you will see little shacks to your left. These were the miners homes, completely furnished with old furniture and linen from days of long ago, those were simpler times indeed. Then you come to a very popular area where you can take stage coach rides, the line was long so we decided to keep walking. As you walk along a little further to your right before the next block is an amazing church, St. Savior’s Church. Standing tall and dramatic it is even more authentic and beautiful on the inside. On down is the school house, then Wendle House Baking and they still have the bakery there. Next is the Blacksmith, then Wake up Jake Restaurant & Coffee Saloon. I don’t know if I have ever seen those two words next to each other (coffee and saloon), I thought to myself you are not in America, so just go with the flow.

As you are strolling along the smell of fresh backed bread fills the air, it is such a fabulous smell, I can only window shop there at Goldfield Bakery. I’ve eaten way too much on this trip so have to stay away from the sweets. Finally we arrived at the post office. I had some post cards to mail to my family so I actually mailed them from this 1891 Historical Post office. My family will be glad to know that the stamp on the postcard they received from me is the official 1910 stamp they have used all these years. Kinda cool.

Next stop is the St. George Bed and Breakfast, nice in it’s time I am sure. Then there is the LA Blanc Photographic Studio, where you can have your photo taken in styles of the 1800 dress. Finally we encounter the the platform where the street performers were putting on a debate pretending they are in a courtroom, for the crowd. All dressed in authentic 1800 clothing. It was a delight to watch their convincing performance.

Mason Daly General Store was next on down that street, and not to forget McPherson’s the Watchmaker. It was so amazing to see these buildings and all the merchandise inside it was so very real. Next was Barkerville Hotel, then we arrived at the Theatre Royal, where they perform live stage shows.

As we stroll along further we come to Chinatown, we find Kwong San Wing Store and then Lai Soy Lum Herbalist, and not to mention Lung Duck Ton Chinese Restaurant. Then way in the back of town is where the waterwheel was next to the river.  They have demonstrations on how this waterwheel was used to deliver power to the rock crusher in those days. Hard work and determination are what drove these miners to this type of living, with a dream of hitting it big.  At the price of gold today, they certainly would have hit the jackpot.

Later we arrived at the horse stables and viewed more of the small cabins where the mine workers lived. Some of the merchants and restaurants are open for the tourists to enjoy food, drink and gift shopping while visiting Barkerville. There is even a hotel that you can spend the night at while there. It truly was an experience that I will never forget. History is alive and well in Barkerville – you too should come and live it.

We made camp at Quesnel which is a very lovely town in itself. Quesnel is located where the Fraser and Quesnel rivers meet. Barkerville is about 40 miles east of Quesnel. Quaint town with flowers everywhere you look and a couple of bridges which cross over each of the rivers. Very picturesque and lots to do and see. Their welcome sign is a huge gold pan at the entrance to the town. Because we were traveling in our RV we were fortunate to find a very nice campsite near 10 mile lake. Lazy Daze RV park is where we parked our motor home and what a peaceful place this was. We were very near the lake and the view was great. There was a swimming platform out on the lake and a boat dock. They featured a gazebo where large groups could gather and a volley ball area for fun in the sun activities. I said to Larry – this is living honey.

There is a family festival each year celebrating Billy Barker days. It's the 3rd weekend in July and offers a lot of fun activities, shows and entertainment in the streets of Barkerville, you will surely not want to miss this event!

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