Introduction

The Gold Rush

Aboriginal Culture

Chief Isidore

The Town of Fisherville

Town of Wildhorse, 1890’s, (FS-8.526)

Living Conditions
Like most gold mining towns in the 1800’s Fisherville was not a very pretty place. Most miners lived in ‘shanties’ that were thrown together with logs, bark, canvas or anything else that could used, and many miners lived in tents. Most of these one-room homes did not have windows or wooden stoves. They had been slapped together without nails because the miners were in a hurry to look for gold. Gold rushes did not last forever, and soon most of the people would move on. That meant that not very many strong and lasting houses or ranches were built.

Businesses
Fisherville was made up of about 50 businesses, and many of them were saloons and gambling houses. It was a rough and wild frontier town full of gold miners who often went to these businesses.

The residents of Fisherville also needed food and supplies, so there were also stores, restaurants, and a Hudson’s Bay post. Michael Phillipps became the new man in charge of Fort Kootenai after John Linklater left. Mr. Phillipps thought that he could make money off the gold rush by moving his trading post to Fisherville. He set up his new post near the mouth of Wild Horse Creek and changed its name from Kootenai to Kootenay. The old post at Tobacco Plains was closed down.

Dan Drumheller, was a man who travelled up to Wild Horse Creek from Spokane, Washington. When he arrived at Fisherville Mr. Drumheller built a little log shack with a canvas roof for his new general store. When he opened the store he made a lot of money. Everything during the boom of the gold rush was paid for in gold. Mr. Drumheller told of miners who sometimes paid for goods with $56 gold nuggets, that’s almost $600 today!

Living Supplies
All supplies were carried into Wild Horse Creek by packs of mules or horses from Walla Walla, Washington. The trail from Walla Walla was the only one into the East Kootenay and Fisherville. It was a dangerous route and over 600 miles long.
Because all of the goods were brought in from far away, the miners had to pay high prices for what they bought. The average price for most things like coffee, beans, and flour was 75 cents. Because a lot of the food was expensive many men just ate beans and bread.

About 800 men stayed at Wild Horse Creek over the winter of 1864 and by the spring provisions were running low. The cold and snowy winters in the East Kootenay made it very difficult to bring supplies into the area. The price of goods became very expensive: flour went up to $1.25 per pound. There were no cattle left and only 100 sheep. Many of the miners were forced hunt and fish to make sure they had something to eat.

Looking for Gold		Galbraith's Ferry