Omineca Gold Rush
[1] The first recorded gold discovery in the Omineca district was made by William Cust and Edward Carey in the summer of 1861.
In later years, some of these men would make major gold discoveries in the region, notably, Ezra Evans and Peter Toy.
Two that stayed on and prospected at Toy's Bar were John Giscome and Henry McDame, both of whom had worked on the Peace, Smoky and Nation Rivers.
[3] Throughout 1864–1868, very little activity is recorded in the Omineca district, although many of these prospectors returned regularly and worked at Toy's Bar and other known areas where they knew they would find enough gold to be able to fund their other prospecting ventures.
The arrangements for the trip were made by a committee of three well-known men, storekeeper Peter Dunlevy who owned stores at Soda Creek and Fort George, Edgar Dewdney and pioneer road builder Gustavus Blin-Wright who also owned the local paddle steamers, Enterprise and Victoria.
The party received unexpected company near the end of June with the arrival of two of Silver Creek's original discoverers, Ezra Evans and Gaylord.
With the exception of Patrick Kelly and Vital LaForce, who stayed at Fort St. James, the other miners all returned to Quesnel with the news that the venture had only been marginally successful.
On October 29 the Peace River Prospecting Party and Ezra Evans' group left to return to Vital Creek, but they would not be alone for long.
Gold rush fever had swept Quesnel and letters had been sent to nearby Barkerville urging friends and family to drop everything and head for Omineca.
Sylvester's party returned in December to record that they had staked 56 claims and they reported that the original miners at Vital Creek had been incorrect and the discovery was richer than everyone had been led to believe.
[2]: 17–19 In January 1870, the Omineca region suffered very heavy snowfalls and extreme cold temperatures, and surface mining could not be performed.
Nevertheless, he continued this service throughout the spring and summer of 1870, handling the Omineca mail for Wells Fargo and Barnard's Express.
A road was built from Takla Landing to Fall River under the direction of the newly installed Gold Commissioner, WH Fitzgerald.
Later, in the spring of 1871, Captain William Meade would bring in a pack train from Hazelton, and he would make many improvements on that trail.
Rufus Sylvester constructed sluice boxes and his group's yield was often ten ounces of gold per day for each man.
During the winter of 1870–71, Rufus Sylvester carried mails and gold between the Omineca district and Quesnel using a dog team.
Another gold rush entrepreneur arrived in the area, Peter Cargotitch, and built a saloon at Omineca City and hired a group of entertainers called the McGinley Troupe to perform for his customers.
Two sawmills were constructed, and sluice boxes were built by nearly all of the miners to aid in easier and faster gold retrieval.
Manson's Creek was only eight miles from Germansen Landing and when the news of Howell's strike was made, men rushed to this new site and staked their claims.
There would be three Gold Commissioners for the Omineca district in the 1870s and they were, Peter O'Reilly, WH Fitzgerald and D. Ballentyne, who would also act as Stipendary Magistrates.
[6] Despite the building boom, there was only one trader in the area in the summer of 1871, a man named Elmore who was stationed at Omineca City.
By the fall of that year, the news of the strike in the Cassiar district had reached the Omineca and many men left for these new, "greener pastures".
In the 21st century, mining is still being practiced in the Omineca, although all of the old gold rush towns are long gone, with the exception of Manson Creek, which still exists today.
