Whatcom Trail facts for kids

The Whatcom Trail was an important path used by people heading to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858. This trail started in Bellingham Bay, which is now part of Bellingham. It followed a low-lying area called the Columbia Valley. This valley connected the middle Nooksack River area with Cultus Lake and the lower Chilliwack River in the Upper Fraser Valley. This area is about 80 kilometers east of today's Vancouver. In 1858, a man named T. G. Richards built the first brick building in Washington. It was a store to help people get supplies for their journey on the Whatcom Trail.

The name "Whatcom" comes from the Lummi language. It means "noisy," likely referring to a waterfall.

Why the Trail Was Important

The Whatcom Trail was used by thousands of gold seekers. They chose this route even though the British Governor on Vancouver Island had a rule. He wanted everyone to travel to the goldfields only through Victoria and then by the Fraser River.

Why the Governor Had Rules

The governor had a few reasons for his rule. He wanted to control who entered the goldfields. He also wanted to prevent large groups of armed Americans from coming in. Plus, he wanted to control all trade with the local First Nations people. The Hudson's Bay Company had a special right to control this trade back then.

Showing Control Was Hard

But the Whatcom Trail showed that it was hard for the new British colony to stop people from the United States from entering. The same thing happened with another path called the Okanagan Trail.

Other Routes and Border Issues

There was another route that is now a major border crossing near Sumas. But back then, it couldn't be used because of a large, shallow lake called Sumas Lake. This lake has since been drained and is now farmland.

The Skagit Trail

Another path was the Skagit Trail. This trail went up the Skagit River to its source. From there, another valley led to the Fraser River near Hope. Hope was a fur trading post for the Hudson's Bay Company at the time.

Border Security

US troops were sometimes stationed near the southern end of the Whatcom Trail. This happened during times of tension, like the San Juan Islands Dispute, also known as the Pig War.

On the Canadian side, a large area of land in Sardis was set aside for military use. This area later became CFB Chilliwack, a Canadian Forces Base. This was done in the 1870s and 1880s because of worries about potential attacks from groups like the Fenians. It was also a response to the large number of local Stó:lō First Nations people in the area.

Today, there is no border crossing where the Columbia Valley used to be. There is only a fence across farmland.

Images for kids

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  Solid line is Whatcom Trail, dotted line is Skagit Trail
  Only settlements extant in 1858 are shown