Harry McDame facts for kids
Henry "Harry" McDame (born in 1826, died around 1900) was an important explorer and gold miner. He was born in the Bahamas. He became famous for finding gold in both California and British Columbia, Canada.
Harry McDame's Adventures
Harry McDame arrived in British Columbia in 1858. Many other Black people from California came with him. Governor James Douglas encouraged them to move there. Harry McDame settled near a place now called Quesnel.
He teamed up with his neighbor, Robert Giscome. They explored and found a major route to the Peace River Gold Rush. This route became known as Giscome Portage. It connected the Fraser River with the Parsnip River. This linked the Fort George area to the Peace River. It also led to the Omineca River goldfields.
Harry and Robert explored many rivers. These included the Peace, Nation, and Smoky Rivers. They looked for gold in the Omineca area in 1870. But in 1874, they moved to the Cassiar Country. Thousands of others went there too. They heard about lots of gold near Dease Lake.
McDame and Giscome formed a group called the Discovery Company. They found gold on a creek that became known as McDame's Creek. In 1874, they found gold worth about $6,000. That would be about $250,000 today! In 1877, the biggest gold nugget in British Columbia's history was found there. It weighed 72 ounces. That was worth $1,300 back then, or about $52,000 today.
McDame continued mining in this area until the early 1880s. He then went back to the Omineca region. In 1884, he found gold on Lorne Creek. Later that year, he became ill and went to a hospital. After he got better, he returned to the Omineca. He continued to search for gold with a new partner, Sam Booth. Harry McDame passed away in that region sometime before 1901.
What's Named After Harry McDame?
Many places are named after Harry McDame. One is McDame Creek, where he found so much gold. There was also a trading post called McDame Post. It was later sold to the Hudson's Bay Company. It was also known as Fort McDame.
The McDames Creek Indian Reserve No.2 is also in the same area. It is named after the creek. In the Kaska language, the creek is called Kasha. This word is the source for the name "Cassiar."
Harry McDame also explored other areas, like the Skeena River. He named some places there, too. One of them is Chimdemash Creek. The meaning of that name is not known.
