Ashcroft House, 1862 (credit: BC Archives #3875)

Just as their first cabin was completed, they were catering to the needs of miners who were travelling south for the winter. The following year they had a large roadhouse built beside the Cariboo Road. Within ten years the Cornwalls' had developed the most progressive farm in the district, and had under their control 6,000 acres. In later years Clement became a magistrate, and then a Judge, and finally, Lieutenant Governor of BC in 1881.

Clement Cornwall (credit: BC Archives #F-09985) This image's link to BC Archives is to a text file only.

Following the arrival of the CPR to Ashcroft in the mid 1880s. Chinese who had worked on the railroad construction turned to farming in the Ashcroft area. With rich soil, and the availability of water, Ashcroft became famous for its potatoes, which were shipped across Canada on the train. There was also a tomato cannery. It was well known that the freighters always carried a supply of ripe tomatoes with them, which they fed to the horses when water was unavailable.

Today the fields of potatoes and tomatoes are no more. Although Ashcroft and nearby Cache Creek are still home to a number of Chinese families, crops of ginsing, growing under black plastic covers, dot the landscape.

The Ashcroft Manor in the 1980s prior to restoration (credit: Branwen C. Patenaude, Quesnel)

Today the restored Ashcroft Manor is a show place for tourists, while close to it the present owners have built a restaurant where meals are served during the summer months.

All text and images © Quesnel & District Museum and Archives unless otherwise noted. Thanks to the B.C. Archives for permission to show various images. Thanks to the BC Encyclopedia for permission to quote information on the roadhouse communities. Thanks to the Living Landscapes Project, the Royal British Columbia Museum, Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services for their support of site development.