Golden Nuggets: Roadhouse Portraits Along the Cariboo's Gold-Rush Trail

David W. Leonard is the project historian (Northern Alberta) in the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development. He
is also the author of Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909
and the co-author of The Lure of the Peace R

In 1858, nearly 10,000 independent miners entered the interior of
British Columbia, attracted by the prospect of gold in streams flowing
into the Fraser River. The ensuing Cariboo gold rush has become the
dominant theme in the history of the region, producing an extensive body
of historical literature both popular and scholarly. Contributing to
this trend in recent times has been the publishing firm Heritage House.
Its latest release, Golden Nuggets, is a collection of 300 recent and
archival photographs combined with readable and anecdote-filled
commentary on the gold-rush era and the trails that led to the real or
prospective gold deposits. Two books the author published earlier with
Heritage House, Trails to Gold and Trails to Gold: Roadhouses of the
Cariboo, also reveal much about this colorful era.

The large number of participants involved in the search for gold in the
region during the latter part of the 19th century produced an equally
large number of stopping places and other buildings that survive to this
day. In time, much of the region was given over to ranches or small
farms, and several of the gold rush buildings were later converted into
ranch or farm houses. Some of the structures have been resurrected and
made into interpretation centres. Others have been restored and
renovated to serve other purposes—for example, as guest houses for
tourists. Still others remain in various states of dilapidation,
although they still provide structural evidence of the flurry of
activity surrounding the relentless search for gold.

For anyone wishing to travel the gold-rush trails of British
Columbia’s rugged interior and experience the ethos of the era that
produced them, Golden Nuggets will be an invaluable guide.