The Bedwell River is in the Clayoquot Sound region on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The river flows into Bedwell Sound, which lies northeast of Meares Island and Tofino.
Formerly named the Bear River by Captain Richards, the official rename evidenced the Bedwell Sound connection. However, the previous name remains in use locally. [1] The 1913 announcement that the name would change to Denbigh River, in honour of Rudolph Feilding, 9th Earl of Denbigh, chair of the Ptarmigan Mine on Big Interior Mountain, proved premature. [2] Instead, Bedwell River was officially adopted federally months later, [3] but a decade later provincially. [4]
The indigenous name in the Nuu-chah-nulth language is Oinimitis, which is the namesake of the Oinimitis Trail. [1] Oinimitis Indian Reserve No. 4 is near the mouth of the river.
When prospectors discovered gold in 1865, placer mining quickly swamped the valley. [5] However, the numerous large boulders made most workings unprofitable. [6] Indignant at being duped, the hordes departed within weeks, [7] leaving mainly Chinese miners, who maintained the constructed trail until the mid-1880s. Apparently, the sudden death of one of their number at that time created superstitious fears causing the final 15 to collectively leave. [5]
In 1899, the townsite of Port Hughes was laid out at the river mouth, being the headquarters for 60 mines in the region. That year, a 14-room hotel was erected. [6] Moses McGregor was the inaugural and final postmaster 1900–1901. [8] The settlement was named after Capt. Hughes, who was master of a coastal steamboat. The residents soon left and the hotel closed. The location was uninhabited when the Ptarmigan Mine established a camp at the river mouth in 1913. [9]
Where the valley forks in the upper reaches of the river, You Creek forms the right branch. Prospector Joe Drinkwater was the first to explore the creek, a later access route to several mining claims. [5]
Hedley is an unincorporated community near the mouth of Hedley Creek in the Similkameen region of southern British Columbia. The former mining town, on BC Highway 3, is by road about 74 kilometres (46 mi) southwest of Penticton and 38 kilometres (24 mi) southeast of Princeton.
Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.
Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is a 4-hectare (9.9-acre) historic provincial park near the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The location off BC Highway 19 is about 102 kilometres (63 mi) by road northwest of Victoria, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Nanaimo.
The Bulkley Valley is in the northwest Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada.
Ymir is an unincorporated community in the Selkirk Mountains in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Ymir is located where the Salmo River meets Quartz Creek, and Ymir Creek. The locality, on BC Highway 6, is by road about 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of Salmo and 34 kilometres (21 mi) south of Nelson.
Clo-oose is an area adjacent to the mouth of the Cheewhat River on the west coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Within the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the former steamboat stop is by road and trail about 102 kilometres (63 mi) south of Port Alberni and 119 kilometres (74 mi) west of Duncan.
The Big Bend Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Big Bend Country of the Colony of British Columbia in the mid-1860s.
Leechtown is at the confluence of the Leech River into the Sooke River in southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The ghost town, off BC Highway 1 is about 59 kilometres (37 mi) by road northwest of Victoria.
Kitselas is a railway point on the northwestern shore of the Skeena River in the Skeena region of west central British Columbia, Canada. The former name was Vanarsdol. Across the Skeena to the southwest is the mouth of the Zymoetz River. This river bridge on BC Highway 16 is by road about 10 kilometres (6 mi) northeast of Terrace.
Big Interior Mountain is in central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This snow-covered mountain in Strathcona Provincial Park is about 42 km (26 mi) northeast of Tofino and 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Mount Rosseau.
Fisherville is a ghost town on the northwest shore of the Wild Horse River in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. The locality, off the Fort Steele-Wildhorse Road, is by road about 7 kilometres (4 mi) northeast of Fort Steele.
Moore's Flat was a historic mining town located on the San Juan Ridge about 19 miles northeast of Nevada City, California and about 5 miles northeast of North Bloomfield, California. The town was about 1 mile south of the Middle Yuba at an elevation of about 4200 ft. On either side of it, lay the mining towns of Orleans Flat and Woolsey's Flat, each about I mile apart. All three were settled around 1851 and their histories frequently intertwine. Collectively, they are sometimes referred to as "The Flats." All three were part of Eureka Township.
Cherokee is a former gold mining community in Nevada County, California. As explained below, it has also been known as Patterson, Melrose and Tyler. It is located on the San Juan Ridge about 4 miles east of North San Juan. Its elevation is 2,516 ft (767 m) above sea level.
Wasa is an unincorporated community in the East Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This place, on the east shore of the Kootenay River north of the mouth of Lewis Creek, surrounds Wasa Lake. The locality, on the merged section of highways 93 and 95, is by road about 36 kilometres (22 mi) north of Cranbrook and 211 kilometres (131 mi) southeast of Golden.
Gila City is a ghost town in Yuma County in the U.S. state of Arizona. The town was settled in 1858 in what was then the New Mexico Territory.
Zincton is a ghost town in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. This former mining community, on BC Highway 31A, is by road about 15 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of New Denver and 31 kilometres (19 mi) northwest of Kaslo.
El Dorado Canyon is a canyon in southern Clark County, Nevada famed for its rich silver and gold mines. The canyon was named in 1857 by steamboat entrepreneur Captain George Alonzo Johnson when gold and silver was discovered here. It drains into the Colorado River at the former site of Nelson's Landing.
Kildonan is an unincorporated community in the Alberni Inlet-Barkley Sound region of the west coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry dock is on the east shore of Uchuchklesit Inlet, which branches northwest of the lower reaches of Alberni Inlet. Adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the locality is by road and ferry about 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Port Alberni.
The Porthill-Rykerts Border Crossing connects the town of Bonners Ferry, Idaho with Creston, British Columbia on the Canada–US border. Idaho State Highway 1 on the American side joins British Columbia Highway 21 on the Canadian side, which continues north towards Creston. The Porthill-Rykerts Border Crossing is used as the American Port only; Rykerts acts as the Canadian Crossing.
Strandby is adjacent to the mouth of the Strandby River at the west end of Shuttleworth Bight, near the northeastern extremity of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
49°22′00″N125°46′00″W / 49.36667°N 125.76667°W