Barkerville
Also known as Cariboo Gold Fields
About Barkerville
Canada counts Barkerville among Electoral Area C, Cariboo’s 2 National Historic Sites. Barkerville went up in 1862–1866. Within 400 m there is one more historic place.
Barkerville National Historic Site of Canada is located on Williams Creek in eastern British Columbia. The historic town was founded in 1862 after the discovery of significant gold deposits in the Cariboo gold fields, but was destroyed by fire in 1868. Constructed almost immediately on the ruins of the first, the second Barkerville began a gradual decline, surviving with reduced mining operations and the maintenance of government offices. The restoration and rebuilding of the town in the late-1950s was initiated with the intension of returning Barkerville to its 1869-1885 state. The townsite, surrounded by huge pits and ditches from 19th century gold mining, marks the northern terminus of the Cariboo Wagon Road, and contains within its boundaries the Chee Kung Tong Building National Historic Site of Canada.
From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, Barkerville National Historic Site of Canada · Open Government Licence – Canada · as published, word for word
A National Historic Site is designated by the federal minister on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board’s advice.
Make it a walk: 2 historic places in about 5 minutes
Electoral Area C, Cariboo · about 100 m on foot, as the crow flies
- 1BarkervilleStart here
- 2Chee Kung Tong BuildingNational Historic Site · 100 m on
1 within 300 m
Every place on the record within this distance; each opens its own page.
Questions about Barkerville
When was Barkerville built?
Barkerville went up in 1862–1866, by its record.
What is Barkerville?
Barkerville is a National Historic Site of Canada, designated in 1924.
Can you visit Barkerville?
Yes from the outside; whether it opens its doors is for its owner to say.
Is Barkerville protected?
The designation recognizes its national significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Provincial or municipal designation may.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).