Big Bend Gold Rush
Encyclopedia
The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush
on the upper Columbia River
in the Colony of British Columbia
(now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s.
The goldfield was located on tributaries of the Columbia in an area known as the Big Bend Country
, named for the huge hairpin bend a few hundred miles long in eastern British Columbia formed by the Columbia as it curves around the Selkirk Mountains
from the river's source to the southeast in the Rocky Mountain Trench
and turns southwards towards the Arrow Lakes and eventually the United States. The main finds were in the middle of the southward leg of the river's journey out of the Big Bend proper, where the towns of Mica Creek
and Big Bend marked the northward focus of the rush. The main part of the rush was nearer the Arrow Lakes, on creeks tributary to the Goldstream River
and Downie Creek, which lay respectively immediately above and below the infamous Dalles des Morts
or "Death Rapids" of the Columbia, which had been the scene of horrendous tragedies twice, in 1817 and 1838. The main town centres of the rush were at La Porte, British Columbia, at the foot of the rapids, and Downie Creek, nearby at that stream's confluence with the Columbia just downstream from La Porte.
, the first of the major gold rushes which dominate the colony's history, out from which the huge influx of miners from California on the Fraser fanned out into other regions of the colony in search of gold. Other rushes found in the same years were the Rock Creek
, Wild Horse Creek, Cariboo
, Omineca
, and Stikine Gold Rush
es, as well as the Colville and Colorado Gold Rush
es which were manned by many who had been on the Fraser and such rushes as Big Bend.
- as it is about the rush itself, which was modest in terms of earnings in comparison to the Fraser and Cariboo, or to the later silver and galena rushes just south in the Slocan
, West Kootenay
and Boundary Districts
. When the rush was discovered, the upper Columbia was extremely remote from any form of non-First Nations civilization in that period, although some who reached the Big Bend rush came overland up the Rocky Mountain Trench from what is now Montana, or via Washington Territory
up the Columbia River itself. Impossibly far from the Fraser, which was itself very remote and difficult to get to from Victoria
, or from the rest of the world.
There were various routes into this area, as men had fanned out over the whole of British Columbia and adjoining US territories in the wake of the Fraser Gold Rush and had heard news of the rush from all directions. The Columbia route was mostly navigable and many came via that route. Regular steamboat service to La Porte, the head of navigation from Marcus, Washington Terr.
began in 1866 (it was first attempted in 1865).. Most, however, came via a water route from the foot of Kamloops Lake, just east of Cache Creek and so near the main trails associated with the Fraser rush and the new goldfields being found north in the Cariboo. From there, steamer services travelled from Kamloops Lake via Fort Kamloops and up the South Thompson to reach Little Shuswap Lake and via the Little River to Shuswap Lake (also called, especially in the old days, Big Shuswap Lake). Shuswap Lake is one of the largest lakes in southern British Columbia, effectively an H-shaped series of four freshwater inlets, the northeast arm leading to the mouth of the short but powerful Seymour River. From there, a few passes including Pettipiece Pass led over wide cols in the Monashee Mountains
to reach the Columbia, where other steamer services operated to the boomtown of Big Bend and to the mouths of the Goldstream River and Downie Creek Creek.
The first steamer service to the Big Bend operated from that location was owned by an Italian settler from California named Savona, and so the location became quickly known as Savona's Ferry (today's town of Savona
).
In later years, once the rush was over, the Big Bend became the route of the first road connecting what is now the province of Alberta to British Columbia, which remained in use until the building of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Rogers Pass
. Most of the goldfields and what remained of their boomtowns and old mining camps and workings is now beneath the waters of the reservoirs of Mica Dam
or Revelstoke Canyon Dam (the Mica Dam
is one of the Columbia River Treaty
dams).
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
on the upper Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
in the Colony of British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
(now a Canadian province) in the mid-1860s.
The goldfield was located on tributaries of the Columbia in an area known as the Big Bend Country
Big Bend Country
Big Bend Country is a term used in the Canadian province of British Columbia to refer to the region around the northernmost bend of the Columbia River, where the river leaves its initial northwestward course along the Rocky Mountain Trench to curve around the northern end of the Selkirk Mountains...
, named for the huge hairpin bend a few hundred miles long in eastern British Columbia formed by the Columbia as it curves around the Selkirk Mountains
Selkirk Mountains
The Selkirk Mountains are a mountain range spanning the northern portion of the Idaho Panhandle, eastern Washington, and southeastern British Columbia. They begin at Mica Peak near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and extend approximately 320 km north from the border. The range is bounded on its west,...
from the river's source to the southeast in the Rocky Mountain Trench
Rocky Mountain Trench
The Rocky Mountain Trench, or the Trench or The Valley of a Thousand Peaks, is a large valley in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains. It is both visually and cartographically a striking physiographic feature extending approximately from Flathead Lake, Montana, to the Liard River, just south...
and turns southwards towards the Arrow Lakes and eventually the United States. The main finds were in the middle of the southward leg of the river's journey out of the Big Bend proper, where the towns of Mica Creek
Mica Creek, British Columbia
Mica Creek is a small village in British Columbia, Canada that was used as a base of operations for the construction of the Mica Dam hydroelectric project by BC Hydro in the 1960s and 1970s. It is located 148 km north of Revelstoke, British Columbia on Highway 23 and situated at the...
and Big Bend marked the northward focus of the rush. The main part of the rush was nearer the Arrow Lakes, on creeks tributary to the Goldstream River
Goldstream River
The Goldstream River is a tributary of the Columbia River, joining that stream via the Lake Revelstoke reservoir after running largely west from the heart of the northern Selkirk Mountains. The river's name derives from the Big Bend Gold Rush of 1865, during which it was the scene of busy...
and Downie Creek, which lay respectively immediately above and below the infamous Dalles des Morts
Dalles des Morts
Dalles des Morts, also known as Death Rapids in English, was a famously violent stretch of the Columbia River upstream from Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada, now submerged beneath the waters of the Lake Revelstoke Reservoir.-1817:...
or "Death Rapids" of the Columbia, which had been the scene of horrendous tragedies twice, in 1817 and 1838. The main town centres of the rush were at La Porte, British Columbia, at the foot of the rapids, and Downie Creek, nearby at that stream's confluence with the Columbia just downstream from La Porte.
Historical context
The rush was a spin-off of the Fraser Canyon Gold RushFraser Canyon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, began in 1858 after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. This was a few miles upstream from the Thompson's confluence with the Fraser River at present-day Lytton...
, the first of the major gold rushes which dominate the colony's history, out from which the huge influx of miners from California on the Fraser fanned out into other regions of the colony in search of gold. Other rushes found in the same years were the Rock Creek
Rock Creek Gold Rush
The Rock Creek Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Boundary Country region of the Colony of British Columbia . The rush was touched off in 1859 when two US soldiers were driven across the border to escape pursuing Indians and chanced on gold only three miles into British territory, on the banks of...
, Wild Horse Creek, Cariboo
Cariboo Gold Rush
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Although the first gold discovery was made in 1859 at Horsefly Creek, followed by more strikes at Keithley Creek and Antler Horns lake in 1860, the actual rush did not begin until 1861, when these discoveries were...
, Omineca
Omineca Gold Rush
The Omineca Gold Rush was a gold rush in British Columbia, Canada in the Omineca region of the Northern Interior of the province. Gold was first discovered there in 1861, but the rush didn't begin until late in 1869 with the discovery at Vital Creek....
, and Stikine Gold Rush
Stikine Gold Rush
The Stikine Gold Rush was a minor but important gold rush in the Stikine Country of northwestern British Columbia, Canada. The rush's discoverer was Alexander "Buck" Choquette, who staked a claim at Choquette Bar in 1861, just downstream from the confluence of the Stikine and Anuk Rivers, at...
es, as well as the Colville and Colorado Gold Rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
es which were manned by many who had been on the Fraser and such rushes as Big Bend.
Access
The story of the Big Bend Gold Rush is as much about the effort to get there - as with all British Columbia gold rushesBritish Columbia Gold Rushes
The presence of gold in the region that is now British Columbia is mentioned in old legends that, in part, led to its discovery. The Strait of Anian, claimed to have been sailed by Juan de Fuca for whom today's Strait of Juan de Fuca is named, was described as passing through a land "rich in gold,...
- as it is about the rush itself, which was modest in terms of earnings in comparison to the Fraser and Cariboo, or to the later silver and galena rushes just south in the Slocan
Slocan
Slocan is the name of a river, lake and valley-region in the West Kootenay region of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The name Slocan is derived from the Sinixt First Nations people's word meaning "to strike or pierce on head" and was derived from their practice of harpooning salmon...
, West Kootenay
West Kootenay
West Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was formed along with East Kootenay from a redistribution of the old Kootenay riding, which was one of the province's original twelve.- Demographics :...
and Boundary Districts
Boundary Country
The Boundary Country is a historical designation for a district in southern British Columbia lying, as its name suggests, along the boundary between Canada and the United States. It lies to the east of the southern Okanagan Valley and to the west of the West Kootenay. It is often included in...
. When the rush was discovered, the upper Columbia was extremely remote from any form of non-First Nations civilization in that period, although some who reached the Big Bend rush came overland up the Rocky Mountain Trench from what is now Montana, or via Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
up the Columbia River itself. Impossibly far from the Fraser, which was itself very remote and difficult to get to from Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, or from the rest of the world.
There were various routes into this area, as men had fanned out over the whole of British Columbia and adjoining US territories in the wake of the Fraser Gold Rush and had heard news of the rush from all directions. The Columbia route was mostly navigable and many came via that route. Regular steamboat service to La Porte, the head of navigation from Marcus, Washington Terr.
Marcus, Washington
Marcus is a town in Stevens County, Washington, United States. The population was 117 at the 2000 census and 183 at the 2010 census, a 56.4% increase over the 2000 census.-History:Marcus was named for Marcus Oppenheimer who settled in the area in 1863....
began in 1866 (it was first attempted in 1865).. Most, however, came via a water route from the foot of Kamloops Lake, just east of Cache Creek and so near the main trails associated with the Fraser rush and the new goldfields being found north in the Cariboo. From there, steamer services travelled from Kamloops Lake via Fort Kamloops and up the South Thompson to reach Little Shuswap Lake and via the Little River to Shuswap Lake (also called, especially in the old days, Big Shuswap Lake). Shuswap Lake is one of the largest lakes in southern British Columbia, effectively an H-shaped series of four freshwater inlets, the northeast arm leading to the mouth of the short but powerful Seymour River. From there, a few passes including Pettipiece Pass led over wide cols in the Monashee Mountains
Monashee Mountains
The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch from north to south and from east to west. They are a subrange of the Columbia Mountains...
to reach the Columbia, where other steamer services operated to the boomtown of Big Bend and to the mouths of the Goldstream River and Downie Creek Creek.
The first steamer service to the Big Bend operated from that location was owned by an Italian settler from California named Savona, and so the location became quickly known as Savona's Ferry (today's town of Savona
Savona, British Columbia
Savona is a small community located at the west end of Kamloops Lake, where the Thompson River exits it. It is approximately halfway between Kamloops and Cache Creek along the Trans-Canada Highway...
).
In later years, once the rush was over, the Big Bend became the route of the first road connecting what is now the province of Alberta to British Columbia, which remained in use until the building of the Trans-Canada Highway through the Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass
Rogers Pass is a high mountain pass through the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia used by the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Trans-Canada Highway. The pass is a shortcut across the "Big Bend" of the Columbia River from Revelstoke on the west to Donald, near Golden, on the east...
. Most of the goldfields and what remained of their boomtowns and old mining camps and workings is now beneath the waters of the reservoirs of Mica Dam
Mica Dam
The Mica Dam is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1973 under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, the Mica powerhouse has a generating capacity of . The dam is operated by BC Hydro...
or Revelstoke Canyon Dam (the Mica Dam
Mica Dam
The Mica Dam is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada. Completed in 1973 under the terms of the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, the Mica powerhouse has a generating capacity of . The dam is operated by BC Hydro...
is one of the Columbia River Treaty
Columbia River Treaty
The Columbia River Treaty is an agreement between Canada and the United States of America on the development and operation of dams in the upper Columbia River basin for power and flood control benefits in both countries. For more information about the Columbia River Treaty, visit Columbia Basin...
dams).