During the height of the fur trade Ft. Alexander, located on the west bank of the Fraser River, was a key transportation link in the entire north west. Furs would be gathered from all over what is now northern BC and Alberta and prepared for shipment. The Fur Brigade would then set out from Ft. Alexander, work their way to Ft. Kamloops, then over to the Columbia river system and down to Ft. Vancouver. The Hudson's Bay Company used Ft. Vancouver as the shipping point for the entire north west. On their way back up the fur brigade route supplies for the year would be dropped at each fort. When the gold rush pushed its way up into the upper reaches of the Fraser River, Ft. Alexander was the major supply depot from 1858 to 1860. It was not to last for long, but while it did another settlement, Alexandria grew on the opposite bank of the Fraser River. Since the packers and prospectors were heading primarily for Quesnel Forks at this stage of the rush, a settlement on the east side of the river made sense. Several trails were cut either from Alexandria or the Williams Lake area all converging on Beaver Valley and then on to Quesnel Forks. This route was favored by the packers and remained important until a full wagon road was pushed into the Cottonwood valley in 1864 by G.B. Wright.
At that point the pack trails into Quesnel Forks and then over difficult mountains to Barkerville were passed by and Quesnel became the key supply point for the gold seekers.
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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.
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