Stikine Gold Rush
Encyclopedia
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 approximately 56°48′N 131°46′W. Choquette was the son-in-law of the Tlingit chief Chief Shakes
, who presided over the region at the mouth of the river, the site of the former Fort Stikine
and today's city of Wrangell, Alaska
, and had also explored the Nass and several other rivers.
Once news of the find reached the various other goldfields in British Columbia
, the lower Stikine in the area of Choquette's find was inundated with prospectors and the river itself busy with steamboat traffic, served by vessels who abandoned the moribund Fraser routes.
of the Colonies of Vancouver Island
and British Columbia
to declare, in 1862, British ownership over the region in the form of the Stickeen Territories, which extended north from the northern frontier of British Columbia at the Nass
and Finlay River
s to the 62nd Parallel. The Stickeen Territories were a year later merged with British Columbia, except for the portion north of the 60th Parallel, which reverted to the North-Western Territory
from which the Territories had been taken upon their creation. Mineral exploration of the region continued in the wake of the rush, with the much-larger Cassiar Gold Rush, north of Telegraph Creek, discovered in 1870 by Harry McDame
.
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...
in the Stikine Country
Stikine Country
The Stikine Country, also referred to as the Stikine District or simply "the Stikine" , is one of the historical geographic regions of the Canadian province of British Columbia, located inland from the central Alaska Panhandle and comprising the basin of the Stikine River and its tributaries...
of northwestern British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. 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
Stikine River
The Stikine River is a river, historically also the Stickeen River, approximately 610 km long, in northwestern British Columbia in Canada and southeastern Alaska in the United States...
and Anuk Rivers, at approximately 56°48′N 131°46′W. Choquette was the son-in-law of the Tlingit chief Chief Shakes
Chief Shakes
Chief Shakes is a distinguished Tlingit leadership title passed down through generations.-Origin:The orphan Gush X’een lived at Ch’aal’in. He was a Teikweidí named Joonák’w. The leader of the Naanya.aayí, S.nóok, took a liking to the orphaned boy and raised him as a nephew...
, who presided over the region at the mouth of the river, the site of the former Fort Stikine
Fort Stikine
Fort Stikine was a fur trade post and fortification in what is now the Alaska Panhandle, at the site of the present-day of Wrangell, Alaska, United States...
and today's city of Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell is a city and borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2000 census the population was 2,308.Its Tlingit name is Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw . The Tlingit people residing in the Wrangell area, who were there centuries before Europeans, call themselves the Shtaxʼhéen Ḵwáan after the nearby Stikine...
, and had also explored the Nass and several other rivers.
Once news of the find reached the various other goldfields in British Columbia
British 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,...
, the lower Stikine in the area of Choquette's find was inundated with prospectors and the river itself busy with steamboat traffic, served by vessels who abandoned the moribund Fraser routes.
Legacy
Not much gold was found on the Stikine, but the flurry of activity prompted Governor James DouglasJames Douglas (Governor)
Sir James Douglas KCB was a company fur-trader and a British colonial governor on Vancouver Island in northwestern North America, particularly in what is now British Columbia. Douglas worked for the North West Company, and later for the Hudson's Bay Company becoming a high-ranking company officer...
of the Colonies of Vancouver Island
Colony of Vancouver Island
The Colony of Vancouver Island , was a crown colony of British North America from 1849 to 1866, after which it was united with British Columbia. The united colony joined the Dominion of Canada through Confederation in 1871...
and 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...
to declare, in 1862, British ownership over the region in the form of the Stickeen Territories, which extended north from the northern frontier of British Columbia at the Nass
Nass River
The Nass River is a river in northern British Columbia, Canada. It flows from the Coast Mountains southwest to Nass Bay, a sidewater of Portland Inlet, which connects to the North Pacific Ocean via the Dixon Entrance...
and Finlay River
Finlay River
The Finlay River is a 402 km long river in north-central British Columbia flowing north and thence south from Thutade Lake in the Omineca Mountains to Williston Lake, the impounded waters of the Peace River formed by the completion of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in 1968. Prior to this, the Finlay...
s to the 62nd Parallel. The Stickeen Territories were a year later merged with British Columbia, except for the portion north of the 60th Parallel, which reverted to the North-Western Territory
North-Western Territory
The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America until 1870. Named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land, the territory at its greatest extent covered what is now Yukon, mainland Northwest Territories, northwestern mainland Nunavut, northwestern Saskatchewan, northern...
from which the Territories had been taken upon their creation. Mineral exploration of the region continued in the wake of the rush, with the much-larger Cassiar Gold Rush, north of Telegraph Creek, discovered in 1870 by Harry McDame
Harry McDame
Henry "Harry" McDame was a Bahamas-born prospector in the California and British Columbia gold rushes. He arrived in the Colony of British Columbia in 1858, along with many other blacks from California encouraged to move to the colony by Governor James Douglas and took up land near modern-day...
.