Between 1862 and 1870 over one hundred thousand people had traveled the Cariboo Wagon Road to reach these gold fields hoping to find gold along the many creeks that meander through the Cariboo. Built in various stages, it was 1865 before the road was completed. Previous to this, food and supplies were transported either upon the backs of the miners or by pack trains. After its completion, it became possible for larger freight wagons to be used to transport these goods. Stage coaches were then able to travel the distance between Yale and Barkerville carrying miners and passengers to their destination and the small city mushroomed. The most well-known of the stage coach lines was the Barnard Express Stagecoach Lines.
The Chinese played a large part in the formation of this town helping with the construction and building of the Cariboo Wagon Road. Barkerville's Chinatown is now the oldest surviving Chinatown in North America.
The historic cemetery in Barkerville came into being when the first person was buried on the hill on July 24, 1863. Peter Gibson was laid to rest at 31 years of age. On a walk through this interesting cemetery, a visitor will notice that the average age of those buried in it is about 32. It is the last resting place of some of the great and possibly not so great residents of Barkerville.
At its height Barkerville was considered to be the largest city west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. Even during the quieter time between 1910 and the 1930's, the town managed to thrive until the 1940's when the new mining town of Wells came into being. This once thriving gold town became somewhat of a ghost town until 1957 when the BC government began to restore and reconstruct the buildings into what they now are.
Barkerville is not a town to miss but especially if you are interested in ghost towns and old towns with their history and stories.
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