Introduction

The Gold Rush

Aboriginal Culture

Chief Isidore

Fisherville Grows

Many men in the1800’s had gold fever and so prospectors from all over North America assembled their supplies and travelled to the East Kootenay. They were hoping to find gold and make their fortunes. By the spring of 1864 hundreds of prospectors had already arrived at Wild Horse Creek. John Fisher and his party of prospectors were the very first group of people to reach Wild Horse Creek. They built a few small mining shacks that soon turned into a little community that they named Fisherville after John Fisher.

Gold fields of Wild Horse Creek, 1860's - BCARS (B-09400)

By June of 1864, only a few months later, 1500 men had staked out claims on Wild Horse Creek. 200 more straggling miners were arriving there daily. Throughout the summer a total of almost 3 000 miners had come to Fisherville with another 300 men prospecting for gold in other nearby rivers and creeks.

Prospectors here usually removed $20 to $50 worth of gold each day. Today that would be worth $200 to $500 dollars. Some of the very lucky men took out up to $3500 in gold in one day. News was reaching people far and wide across Canada and the United States. The rumour at the time was that Wild Horse Creek would be one of the largest gold rushes in British Columbia’s History.

Word travelled quickly across the continent of the riches to be made at Wild Horse Creek and so in 1 year, by the spring of 1865, Fisherville had grown to over 5000 residents.

The Gold Rush		Looking for Gold