Barkerville Historic Town & Park
14301 Highway 26 E. V0K 1B0 Barkerville, BC, Canada

Students filled with COVID anxiety? Register for Original People's Perspectives of the Gold Rush Session. Join Sintge as he shares stories and songs that provide warmth, caring and connection while discussing difficult memories of Indigenous Peoples. Sintge's session is an experience every student should have. PS. Today is Sintge's birthday :) Only 2.5 weeks remain in our virtual field trips program! Register now to bring our fantastic interpreters into your classroom via livestream.

Thinking of sending more Christmas cards this year? Include a bit of Barkerville with cards printed on our antique presses. Buy 4 items and get 1 item free with code CHRISTMASCARDS (for select items).

We are now taking pre-orders for our popular Barkerville 2021 calendar. This 12-month calendar is designed in-house and features archival photos from the Barkerville collection. We are particularly excited about this year's collection, which features many beautiful landscapes in the Cariboo Goldfields. We now offer direct shipping to anywhere in Canada for only $2. Order now for shipping on December 1st!

Would you travel for 101 days on a ship to an unknown faraway land? Well, that is exactly what Miss Florence Wilson of Barkerville Historic Town & Park did in the year 1862. In this Gold Rush Trail storyteller episode, we explore the life of one of Barkerville's most prominent women. Her story began when news of lovesick miners in British Columbia reached Britain. Trying to alleviate the situation, willing bachelorettes boarded onto a bride ship named the Tynemouth and heade...d to BC. After arriving in the booming gold rush town, not only did Florence meet the love of her life but she became a founding member of the Cariboo Amateur Dramatic Association, a founding member of the Cariboo Literary Institute, a noteworthy mining investor, the owner of two town saloons and even the first librarian in colonial BC. It is clear that Miss Florence Wilson made a long-lasting impact on the Cariboo Gold Rush. Until December 4th, Barkerville is hosting a number of virtual field trips to help bring the magic of the gold rush to you. Head to http://www.barkerville.ca/visit-virtually/ to experience the imaginative and interactive virtual programming or visit http://www.barkerville.ca/ and https://goldrushtrail.ca//150-mile-house-to-williams-lake/ for more historical Barkerville content.

We are excited to announce we've joined the movement to support small business this holiday season and have created an online platform to order custom blacksmith and printing press items, made right here in Barkerville! Help us keep the forges firing and the presses hot this winter by purchasing our unique heritage handcrafts.

Our staff had a great time handing out treats on Halloween. Thank to all the trick-or-treaters for getting into the spirit!

Photos: A Heritage Halloween at Barkerville Quesnel Cariboo Observer

Teachers and homeschoolers: are you looking for something for your students to stay engaged post-Halloween? Book one of our virtual field trips! We offer six different sessions daily, free of charge for classroom use. Book one for each week from now until December 4th!

Today, we head to Barkerville Historic Town & Park to meet the man who started it all, Billy Barker! In this Gold Rush Trail storyteller series episode, we learn how William Barker began prospecting for gold on Williams Creek in 1861. As the lead figure of the Barker mining company, Billy was responsible for staking claims all around the Barkerville area. After many unsuccessful claims finding just specs and flakes, Billy plotted a plan to try mining the lower part of William...s Creek. He was inspired to do this after hearing of the success in nearby gulches and realizing that they would flow deep beneath the canyon on Williams Creek! Finally, on August 17, 1862, his hard work paid off and the history of this province changed forever. The Barker Company struck gold, and lots of it... 124 ounces within just 10 hours! This has since been recognized as the most successful mining event of the Cariboo Gold Rush and it led to the creation of Barkerville and many surrounding mining towns. Learn more at http://www.barkerville.ca/ and https://goldrushtrail.ca/history/. See more

Amazing Tales from the Gold Rush Trail is a truly amazing historical overview of British Columbia’s Gold Rush. Classrooms can now join us on a virtual trip to Barkerville to learn about the people who prospected their way to Williams Creek and how they followed the geological indicators to the fabulous riches of the Cariboo Gold Fields. Hosted by the infamous Mr. Grimsby, this session is live twice daily, so your participants can ask questions and interact with your hosts virtually in real-time. A must-see for anyone with gold fever!

Did you know that at its peak, Barkerville Historic Town & Park had around 5,600 inhabitants, half of whom were Chinese that had migrated from California or directly from China? In this Gold Rush Trail storyteller series episode, we are introduced to Song Fu Lee (otherwise known as Florence), an interpreter at Barkerville who spends her time sharing with visitors what it was like for Chinese gold rush families. Here, while maintaining her beloved character, she tells us all about her family's journey from Southern China as well as what life was like for them in the bustling town during the early 1900s. For more information about Barkerville visit their website at http://www.barkerville.ca/ or head to https://goldrushtrail.ca/history/ to discover more gold rush history.

Fall for BC: Gold Rush Trail - Global TV

There are only 10 tickets left to our 12 pm Trick or Treat time slot, and then our special Halloween opening is completely sold out! Thank you for your incredible support and looking forward to hosting you for a safe and fun day full of Barkerville spookiness!

Classrooms can join our host live for a fascinating exploration of some of the earliest Chinese immigration to Canada and the one of the oldest Canadian Chinatowns. Find out more about the life of Chinese miners and merchants in Barkerville, and how their culture was maintained and adapted to the rugged land of the Cariboo. Available twice daily, and free for classroom use in Canada.

Our Novas to Nuggets Virtual Field Trip Program is all about GOLD! Where did gold come from? What makes this metal so special? The answer is a tale as old as the cosmos. This program is a full of great geology and science information in a fun and engaging format for students. Registration is free for Canadian classrooms.

Did you know that Barkerville Historic Town & Park is a place of many firsts? In this Gold Rush Trail storyteller series episode, we meet Barkerville's Global Media Development Lead, James Douglas, who shares with us the story of Barkerville's first of two murder trials. The story involves the 1866 murder of Charles Morgan Blessing by a man named James Barry. Douglas explains to us how the quick thinking of an amateur detective resulted in Barry being the first-ever criminal ...worldwide to be apprehended through the use of the telegraph, which was invented just a year previously! Today, you can stop by the grave of Blessing, near Troll Ski Resort, on your way to Barkerville which doubles as the smallest historic site in B.C. For more information visit http://www.barkerville.ca/ and https://goldrushtrail.ca//150-mile-house-to-williams-lake/. See more

Meet the Press! We're excited to offer a brand new program through our virtual field trips. Sessions are free for classroom use and can also be booked for private showings. Barkerville newshound George Wallace hosts an interactive and entertaining virtual classroom from the Cariboo Sentinel Newspaper office, including demonstrations of our vintage printing press, an explanation of the historical origins of common, 21st-century word processing terms like uppercase, lowercase, font, and stereotype, and the significant role played by the media in the development and maintenance of gold rushes around the world.

In the spirit of the season, we want to show our gratitude to the hard-working teachers across Canada. We are pleased to announce that our virtual field trips program is now FREE for classroom use. Register now to connect your classrooms with Barkerville’s award-winning educators and historical interpreters live and in real-time!

Due to popular demand, we have now added an additional 12 pm time slot to our Trick-or-Treat program.