Travel to the Historic Town of Barkerville, BC

A tourist attraction that is far from being a tourist attraction, Barkerville, BC (about an hour’s drive from Quesnel) is a living history museum near the small town of Wells.

When the gold rush hit in the late 1850s, Billy Barker made his way to this area in the early 60s. After striking deliriously rich, the historic town of Barkerville was born and miners followed him here in hopes of doing the same.

Now the town opens to visitors who can walk through the main street and peak inside the restored buildings. Costumed interpreters walk the streets chatting with guests as people from more than 150 years ago.

There’s enough energetic theatricals to make it fun, yet the history and historic buildings make it real (as opposed to a kitschy tourist attraction).

After getting a horse and carriage ride with our luggage to check into two hotels (yes, you can stay right on the main street in a heritage hotel), two journalists stayed with Saya at the St. George Hotel, while myself and another writer stayed at King House with the proprietor Carol.

Lunch was at Wake Up Jack saloon, a lunch and dinner eatery serving really simple and homemade fare.

After a tour of Barkerville’s Chinatown, I caught up with the costumed interpreters as they walked us through the “town,” telling stories and giving us a sense of life in the 1850s.

It was then up to the Cornish Waterwheel show, an entertaining performance by two actors as they try to sell the crowd on investing in their mine. The finale, of course, is working the waterwheel (see video below) and getting the kids involved in trying to find some gold.

Spending the night at King House B&B was fantastic. The “town” is silent, there are no street lights and no action except for the horses shifting in the stables. The nightly entertainment was good conversation in the entry parlour of the B&B.

The King House is the most progressive hotel out of the three available. Carol had wireless internet installed two days ago, so we were able to check our emails and Lisa (our host from Vancouver, Coast and Mountain Tourism) and I were the first people to use Twitter to “tweet” from Barkerville!

What I liked:

It really is a turn back in time, as the buldings, all the staff and even the restaurants are from the 1850s.

Costumed interpreters put on a good show with their enthusiasm and period dress.

Wake Up Jack restaurant is a down home eatery, perfect for spending the lunch hour at (there are also many ice cream parlours, an outstanding bakery and lots of place to buy treats- bring CASH).

King House B&B is a quaint, homey hotel run by Carol McGregor. The downstairs room with en-suite bathroom has the most comfortable bed

Tags: b&b, Barkerville, bc, Billy Barker, Carol McGregor, gold rush, Historic Town, horse and carriage, King House, miners, St. George Hotel, tourist attraction, Travel, Wake Up Jack restaurant