Cottonwood, including the Cottonwood Ranch and Cottonwood House, is an unincorporated settlement in the
North Cariboo region of the
Central Interior of British Columbia
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
, Canada. Originally a
ranch
A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
, it is located in the northern
Cariboo Plateau
The Cariboo Plateau is a volcanic plateau in south-central British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Fraser Plateau that itself is a northward extension of the North American Plateau. The southern limit of the plateau is the Bonaparte River alth ...
, just 8 km northwest of
Coldspring House
Coldspring House is an unincorporated locality and former roadhouse on the Cariboo Wagon Road in the Cariboo Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located just east of the confluence of Lightning Creek and the Swift Riv ...
, which is at the confluence of the
Swift River and
Lightning Creek, which is the beginning of the
Cottonwood River. Lightning Creek was one of the more famous of the gold-bearing creeks of the
Cariboo Gold Rush
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later joined the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly River, ...
.
Cottonwood House Historic Site
Cottonwood House Historic Site is a store, museum and heritage property located on the right bank of the Cottonwood River, adjacent to the highway from
Quesnel Quesnel or Quesnell means "little oak" in the Picard dialect of French. It is used as a proper name and may refer to:
Places
* Le Quesnel, a commune the Somme department in France
* Quesnel, British Columbia, a city in British Columbia, Canada ...
to
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
and
Barkerville
Barkerville was the main town of the Cariboo Gold Rush in British Columbia, Canada, and is preserved as a historic town. It is located on the north slope of the Cariboo Plateau near the Cariboo Mountains east of Quesnel. BC Highway 26, which ...
, which was the "capital" of the Cariboo Gold Rush; the route of the highway is nearly identical to that of the
Cariboo Wagon Road
The Cariboo Road (also called the Cariboo Wagon Road, the Great North Road or the Queen's Highway) was a project initiated in 1860 by the Governor of the Colony of British Columbia, James Douglas. It involved a feat of engineering stretching fro ...
, which ran from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
at the foot of the
Fraser Canyon
The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...
and the head of steamboat navigation on the
Fraser Fraser may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands
Australia
* Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen
* Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal ele ...
to Barkerville. Cottonwood House was the last major
roadhouse on the route before its terminus at Barkerville, although Coldspring House and
Beaver Pass House
Beaver Pass House is an unincorporated locality and former roadhouse on the Cariboo Wagon Road (now the Barkerville Highway) in the Cariboo Country of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Located on the north bank of Lightning C ...
are just farther along the route. Its provincial park status was cancelled by
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
in 1999, but it remains a provincial heritage property.
Cottonwood Scandal
Land dealings by Chief Justice
Matthew Baillie Begbie
Sir Matthew Baillie Begbie (9 May 1819 – 11 June 1894) was a British lawyer, politician, and judge. In 1858, Begbie became the first Chief Justice of the Crown Colony of British Columbia in colonial times and in the first decades after Bri ...
in the area of Cottonwood became the focus of a scandal in the later 19th Century. Begbie denied any impropriety and papers relating to the scandal were all destroyed.
See also
*
List of historic ranches in British Columbia
References
{{reflist
External links
Cottonwood House Historic Site- official site
Unincorporated settlements in British Columbia
Geography of the Cariboo