Nowadays you can get around by car, bus, plane, and more. But in the early years, the first form of transportation was by foot.
The First Peoples were the inventors of the modern day canoe. They used canoes to travel long distances across water and land, and the birch bark canoe was lightweight and well suited to local river systems.
As years went by, animals were used for transportation of people and goods. Horses were commonly used because you could get to your destination faster and carry more things. Pack mules and oxen were also animals that were used frequently.
Steam powered sternwheelers made an appearance at the on set of the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858 and continued to provide transportation of goods and people up and down the river until the 1920s.
The BC Express Co. was established in 1861 and served the Cariboo region, but did not have a route through this area until 1865. Many of the goods that were transported by freight and stage were mail, food, clothing, appliances such as stoves, and other supplies. By 1886, people could travel by rail, and soon the BC Express moved its headquarters to Ashcroft.
The first car went through Ashcroft in 1907 and soon after cars became more common, the stagecoach went out of business.
(Ashcroft Journal Ad: Jan. 3, 1932)
In 1923, the I.T Stage Co., went into business in the area and transported passengers up and down the Cariboo road. By 1943, this company sold out to the Greyhound bus lines.
In the 1930s, the field beside the Ashcroft Manor was used as an air strip all year round. In the winter time, if there was not enough snow covering the field at the Manor, and planes had skis on them, the planes would land on the frozen Barnes Lake.
Thinking back to animals that helped transport goods in this area… What other animal do you think was helpful in this area?
The camel!
In May of 1862, camels were brought in to help carry loads to the Cariboo gold fields. They were shipped from Arizona to San Francisco, then sailed to Victoria on the steamer “The Enterprise”. They were two-humped camels originally from central Asia and not used to the climate and elements of this area.
Story Time
Listen to the story: Camels in the Cariboo, written and illustrated by grade 3 & 4 students from Clinton Elementary School in 2005.
Art Activities