Event Title
Crossing the border in 1858: Gold Rush routes from Washington to the Fraser and Thompson Rivers
Description
The discovery of gold along the Thompson and Fraser rivers in 1857 caused a stampede of thousands of miners into what became, by November 1858, the colony of British Columbia. As well as the Fraser River, several overland routes from Washington Territory were taken to the goldfields, including the Whatcom Trail, Semiahmoo Trail, and the Similkameen, Okanagan, and Columbia river valleys. James Douglas, governor of Vancouver Island and chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the nearest de facto representative of the Imperial Crown, proclaimed that miners were required to obtain a license upon entry to the gold region, although some of the routes allowed miners, for a time, to circumvent British customs and fees. Douglas' response to this influx was aided by the resistance of First Nations and the role of the HBC in selling supplies to miners. Both British and American officials and entrepreneurs tried to capitalize from the trans-boundary traffic. Using archival and newspaper sources, this study traces the use of cross-border routes along the 49th parallel in 1858, focusing on routes from Whatcom County, and analyzes the intervention by the HBC and colonial authorities to control the movements of miners. New research sheds light on the gold rush geography of the British-American frontier.
Document Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2008 8:00 AM
Subject - LCSH
Fraser River Valley (B.C.)--Gold discoveries; Thompson River (B.C.)--Gold discoveries; Gold mines and mining--British Columba--History; Canada--Boundaries--United States; United States--Boundaries--Canada
End Date
8-3-2008 5:00 PM
Subjects - Names (LCNAF)
Hudson's Bay Company
Session
Borderlands in the Northwest: Case Studies
Genre/Form
abstracts (summaries)
Type
event
Geographic Coverage
Whatcom County (Wash.); British Columbia; Fraser River Valley (B.C.); Thompson River (B.C.); Canada; United States
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author's written permission.
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Keywords
gold rush, Whatcom Trail, Hudson's Bay Company™, 49th parallel
Crossing the border in 1858: Gold Rush routes from Washington to the Fraser and Thompson Rivers
The discovery of gold along the Thompson and Fraser rivers in 1857 caused a stampede of thousands of miners into what became, by November 1858, the colony of British Columbia. As well as the Fraser River, several overland routes from Washington Territory were taken to the goldfields, including the Whatcom Trail, Semiahmoo Trail, and the Similkameen, Okanagan, and Columbia river valleys. James Douglas, governor of Vancouver Island and chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the nearest de facto representative of the Imperial Crown, proclaimed that miners were required to obtain a license upon entry to the gold region, although some of the routes allowed miners, for a time, to circumvent British customs and fees. Douglas' response to this influx was aided by the resistance of First Nations and the role of the HBC in selling supplies to miners. Both British and American officials and entrepreneurs tried to capitalize from the trans-boundary traffic. Using archival and newspaper sources, this study traces the use of cross-border routes along the 49th parallel in 1858, focusing on routes from Whatcom County, and analyzes the intervention by the HBC and colonial authorities to control the movements of miners. New research sheds light on the gold rush geography of the British-American frontier.