McDame Creek is a creek in
Cassiar Land District The Cassiar Land District is a cadastral survey subdivision of the province of British Columbia, Canada, created with rest of those on Mainland British Columbia via the Lands Act of the Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866), Colony of British Col ...
of
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada. The creek flows southeast into
Dease River
The Dease River flows through northwestern British Columbia, Canada and is a tributary of the Liard River. The river descends from Dease Lake, though its ultimate origin is in the headwaters of Little Dease Creek at Snow Peak, approximately we ...
and is south of
Good Hope Lake
Good Hope Lake: Is a First Nations community in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located on Highway 37 not far south 94 km of the Yukon border with the and located east of the semi-abandoned mining town of Cassiar and Jade City, British C ...
. The creek was discovered in 1874 by a prospector named Harry McDame.
McDame Creek was mined for gold in the 19th century. A camp called Centreville contained cabins and stores and served as a trading centre for miners working on McDame Creek in the 19th century. In 1877 a 72 ounce solid
gold nugget
:''"Gold nugget" may also refer to the catfish Baryancistrus xanthellus or the mango cultivar Gold Nugget.''
A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate nuggets and finer gold in placers. Nuggets a ...
valued at $1,300 was found in McDame Creek. The solid gold nugget was found by a prospector named Al Freeman, it was the largest found in the province. This nugget was found roughly where 1st N. Fork Creek flows into McDame Creek.
The Christie Lead
A gold miner named Christie discovered a lead of gold near McDame Creek in 1876. This gold lead became known as the "Christie Lead". The lead was a run of gold that was 30 meters wide and continuous for almost a 1.5 kilometers. The lead returned $2,000.00 to $6,000.00 weekly. It was located between Snow Creek and 3rd North Fork Creek and ran parallel to McDame Creek. In 1877 the Christie Lead abruptly ran out. Many attempts were made to find where the lead may have continued along the creek. None of these attempts have been successful. Some believe the lost "Christie Lead" awaits rediscovery along McDame Creek.
References
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Rivers of British Columbia
Cassiar Land District