Williams Creek (British Columbia) facts for kids
Williams Creek is a very important historical creek in British Columbia, Canada. It's famous for the huge amount of gold found there during the Cariboo Gold Rush. This creek flows into the Willow River. You can find it between the historic town of Barkerville and the town of Wells.
The creek is named after Wilhelm Dietz. He was a sailor from Prussia (which is now part of Germany). Wilhelm was part of a group that first found gold on this creek. His friends quickly claimed the land, and soon many others followed.
Williams Creek became the richest gold mining area in the Cariboo region. It led to the creation of several towns. These included Richfield, Barkerville, and Cameronton. Together, these places were often called "Williams Creek."
Barkerville and Cameronton were named after two of Dietz's friends, Billy Barker and John Cameron. Billy Barker became one of the most famous and richest gold miners in the Cariboo. Sadly, Wilhelm Dietz's own gold claim didn't make much money, and he passed away without wealth.
Williams Creek: A Gold Rush Story
The Cariboo gold area has a long and exciting history of gold discovery. It started in the late 1850s. Experts believe that over 2 million ounces of placer gold were found here during the 1800s. Placer gold is gold found in riverbeds or gravel.
By 1877, the total value of gold reported from all claims on Williams Creek was an amazing $19,320,000. To give you an idea of how much that is today, it would be worth about $3.1 billion! This shows just how rich the creek was.
Searching for Gold in Rocks
In the early 1860s, when a lot of gold was being found in the creek beds, people started looking for gold hidden deep inside rocks. This is called "lode gold." Some of the first claims staked for this type of gold were named Black Jack, Home Stake, Cornish, and Wintrip.
Between 1877 and 1892, miners explored and tested several major rock veins. These included the Bonanza Vein, Steadman Vein, and Black Jack Vein. During this time, a company called Black Jack and Burns Co. dug a deep shaft, about 180 feet down, on the Black Jack claim. From this shaft, they created tunnels and crosscuts. They found gold samples worth more than $70 per ton, which was a lot of money back then.
The larger Cariboo area continued to have many gold mines operating throughout the 20th century.
