Yale Historic Site
31187 Douglas Street V0K 2S0 Yale, BC, Canada

The Village of Lytton, along with tourism and community stakeholders in the Fraser Canyon, are developing a Tourism Master Plan that includes the creation of a tourism brand and strategy for the Fraser Canyon. Currently the Project Steering Committee would like the input of all tourism stakeholders, business owners, residents and visitors to ensure there is a wide range of consultation for the strategy. To download the community survey visit: https://advantagehope.ca/fraser-canyon-branding-initiative

Railway construction began in Yale in 1880, led by Andrew Onderdonk who took on the challenge of navigating the difficult route through the cliff sides of the canyon which in turn brought Yale back to life after a heavy decline after the gold rush of 1858 ended.

Mary Ann Charlie and Captain Charlie in Yale circa 1900. Captain Charlie was born in 1831 and Mary Ann Liam Lamut in 1838 both in Yale. They were the parents of Maryann Junior (m. Billy Williams), Patrick Charlie (m. Annie Chapman) and Chief Jimmy Charlie (m. Rosie Gutterriez Paul). Captain Charlie died of old age at Ruby Creek in 1923, at 92 and Mary Ann predeceased him in 1921 at the age of 83, in Yale. Charlie family members have always made their homes on the little reser...ve between Yale Creek and Mary Ann Creek, so the known details seem to fit local recollections. One of her baskets is in the Historic Yale Museum, and her work is nice, as can be seen here; though if one looks closely the differences can be seen between this Tait basket and the ones produced by the N'Laka'pamux women of Spuzzum, her stitches are not as tiny. Captain Charlie was likely not a recognized riverboat captain, though he undoubtedly had fine navigational skills on the water. This title for aboriginal people generally came from the church, which employed lay persons as captains and watchmen; their duties were to help the priests and ministers in shepherding their people in the ways of the church, and likely keeping the attendance up. Excerpts from Irene Bjerky.

"B.C.’s longest and largest river, stretching 1,375 km from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Georgia, is the subject of the Blacklaws’ latest work. The Fraser: River of Life and Legend has been a long time coming and many trips on various parts of the Fraser for them Rick has spent 15 years photographing the river and Carol spent four years crafting the book’s narrative." via The Hope Standard

A postcard of a man gold washing in Yale published by Valentine & Sons, Ltd. Valentine & Sons of Dundee were Scotland’s most successful commercial photographers, publishing postcards in the U.K., Canada, U.S., Australia and South Africa. They opened up their offices in Canada in 1912 in Winnipeg and Vancouver.

Travelling to and from Yale looked a lot different in the 1950's, however this was a vast improvement compared to the cliffside trails the Indigenous people of the region traversed for thousands of year prior!

We received this fantastic submission of photos from Yale in the 1930’s from Trevor Corbett from his grand parents Francis and Ruth Corbett.

A look at Yale's C.P.R. station around the 1970's courtesy of Wallace B. Chung and Madeline H. Chung.

This is the time we would typically close for the season, however this year looked quite different and while we did end up opening for a short time we had to close our doors earlier than usual. We would like to say thank you to all the supporters of our historic site and we hope to see you in the Spring of 2021!

Our historic site may be closed but our neighboring Johnny Ward Guest House remains open for you to plan a staycation to view a whole new side of British Columbia you never knew! by @peakphotographybc #HistoricYale

With the news spread on the huge gold strike at Hill's Bar just down river from Yale in 1858, miners flooded the area and the Fraser River Gold Rush began bringing Yale's population to an estimated 30,000.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend the night in a museum? Yale's very own Johnny Ward Guesthouse offers an unforgettable experience making it feel as though you have travelled back in time https://historicyale.ca/accommodation. by @alina_kul8 #HistoricYale

Head over to our blog to learn about when Yale was the wickedest little settlement in British Columbia!

Photographed is a tree cache used by the Indigenous community in Yale. There are many reasons this was said to be done, one was to protect their harvest from scavengers, another was to keep goods safe from flooding but then there are theories about keeping the food elevated in colder months to prevent from freezing.

Road Trip Mama spent the night in The Johnny Ward Guest House and wrote up a great piece on the experience!

Yale was once one of the most wild towns in the west! With the influx of miners searching the shores for their big pay day during the gold rush of 1858, all that came along with their lifestyle began to spring up along our waterfront; Saloons, hotels, gambling, houses of ill repute and there is even word of at least two opium dens that once stood in Chinatown.

"Our little history captured at @historicyale. Amazing experience with the Victorian style accommodation, historic site, and these two beauties by my side" by @alina_kul8 #HistoricYale

Experience an overnight stay in Yale in a historic home from the late 1800's. The Johnny Ward Guest House is decked out in period decor making it feel as though you have been transported in time to the early days of British Columbia https://historicyale.ca/accommodation. by @alina_kul8 #HistoricYale

The Oppenheimer brothers began in Yale one of the earliest businesses in what we now call British Columbia. David and Isaac Oppenheimer built their store on Front Street in 1858." By 1859 the brothers had stores established in Fort Hope and Lytton. With the gold rush heading upriver the Oppenheimers followed the rush into Barkerville. The store in Barkerville soon became a centre of the town. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by fire in 1868, costing the brothers $100,000. This... setback did not deter them for they quickly rebuilt and the new store was on an even grander scale than the one they had lost. The store in Yale, run by David and Isaac, suffered greatly as a result of fire in 1874 and in 1881. After the first fire they erected a brick warehouse as well as the fire wall, remnants of which can still be seen today. A fire engine from San Francisco was eventually brought in and Isaac was made captain of the fire brigade. Charles decided to take on a contract to build a section of the Cariboo Waggon Road with Walter Moberly. As a result he withdrew from the family firm, and the name was changed to Oppenheimer & Co. Charles later returned to San Francisco where he died in 1890. Shortly after the second fire in 1881 the decision was made to close Yale's Oppenheimer Store after 23 years in operation. Godfrey had passed away the previous year at age 51, and David and Isaac moved to Vancouver. In 1885 they established the first wholesale grocery business there. As they became large landholders it is not surprising that they increased the value of the land by promoting Vancouver as the Pacific terminus of the CPR. David and Isaac served on the 1887 city council, a year after Vancouver was incorporated. Via virtualmuseum.ca

An idea of how many businesses once stood on front street around the gold rush of 1858, including hotels, merchants of all kinds, doctors, saloons , restaurants and other less reputable businesses.

Our neighboring Ward Guest House is available for private accommodations, offering you a night in local history complete with period decor. https://historicyale.ca/accommodation