Barkerville

Just outside of Wells you will find the provincial historic site of Barkerville. Although many boomtowns sprung to life during the Cariboo Gold Rush, Barkerville’s collection of multi-purpose buildings squeezed against the bank of a mountainside creek was the largest and most resilient in the region. By 1958, when the provincial government declared the town a BC Heritage Property, Barkerville had been all-but deserted, and the last residents were relocated as work began on restoring the town’s “heyday splendour.” Now one of Canada’s National Historic Sites, Barkerville is BC’s best-known heritage destination and the largest historic site in western North America.  

Full of colour and vitality, with stagecoach rides, live theatre, saloons serving quaffs of sarsaparilla, a photo studio, cafe and bakery, a well-preserved 19th-century Chinatown and interesting cemetery tours, families love to visit Barkerville and enjoy costumed interpreters roaming the streets as historical characters, greeting newcomers as if they’d just arrived on a Barnard Express stagecoach. One hundred and thirty-five restored buildings are on display as “locals” set off to work at the mine or otherwise bring a bygone era to life. See and hear what it was like to be a blacksmith, a school teacher, a seamstress – or a precocious child – 150+ years ago. Find out more about Barkerville’s summer programs and the Historic Gold Rush Trail here.

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