Dewdney Trail
The Governor of British Columbia decided to
build a trail from Osoyoos Lake to Fisherville. In April of 1865 he hired
Edgar Dewdney to do this job. It would be the first trail built through
Southern British Columbia. The trail would be 440 miles long and four
feet wide.
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Dewdney
Trail construction, 1860's
BCARS (C-08076)
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The governor of BC wanted to build this trail
to link Fisherville to the colonial capital of BC, New Westminister. This
meant that goods and supplies from southwestern BC could be sent to Fisherville
and the colonial government could collect taxes on the gold that was mined.
Before the Dewdney trail was built the only way into the Kootenays was
the trail that came up from Walla Walla, Washington. The BC government
was trying to stop the gold from being taken down to the United States.
Edgar Dewdney hired William Fernie to help
him build the trail. Mr. Fernie became the foreman for a trail crew of
65 men from Wild Horse Creek. Many miners including these men decided
that working a steady job was better than taking a risk at gold mining.
The trail was finished in September 1865. But the gold rush at Wild Horse
Creek was over by this time. All the prospectors were beginning to leave
Fisherville, and the government ended up collecting very little taxes
from gold.
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End
of the Gold Rush
