A Likely Tourism Scheme
British Columbias' Best Kept Secret
Quesnel Forks could become a hot spot for history buffs
The community of Quesnel Forks, 80 kilometres south of Barkerville, thrived during the 1850s Cariboo Gold Rush. By 1860 it boasted 20-odd homes, a dozen stores, boarding houses, hotels, liquor stores and an assortment of tents within a 10-acre clearing. At its peak Quesnelle Forks, as it was originally called, had a population of 5,000. But when the gold rush died off, so did the town.
Unlike Barkerville, which was transformed into a popular tourist site thanks to $15 million in government funding, Quesnel Forks became a ghost town ripe for vandalizing. But now, thanks to the efforts of a septuagenarian entrepreneur-who searches for gold with a willow stick-the ramshackle remnants could be transformed. Henry Hicks is determined to turn Quesnel Forks into a tourism boom town.
By the time Mr. Hicks retired to Likely (just south of the ghost town) in 1980, after a career as a bush pilot in the Canadian north, spring runoff had washed away some houses at Quesnel Forks. Vandals had desecrated the graveyard, sawed Chinese carvings off the roof of the hotel and ripped up the floors of buildings in the search for coins.
Nevertheless, Quesnel Forks, standing amidst beautiful meadows overlooking the junction of the Quesnel and Cariboo rivers, remained a scenic magnet for tourists.
Indeed, when Mr. Hicks and his wife won a government contract to manage campsites in the Likely area, they learned that Quesnel Forks, with the largest open-pit gold mine in the province, was the biggest draw for tourists in the region. “In 1991 we had 7,780 wandering through Quesnel Forks, even though Barkerville was a manageable drive away,” says Mr. Hicks, 71.
Quesnel Forks is arguably the one bright spot in an otherwise depressed region. Both Likely and Quesnel are suffering economically: Welwood of Canada Ltd. has cut back logging operations over the past few years, and the mining industry is in deep trouble.
“Something had to be done to rejuvenate the economy,” explains the entrepreneur. He began a two-pronged campaign to revitalize the ghost town and promote the forest industry. Using Barkerville for comparison, he estimated it would take about $250,000 to restore Quesnel Forks and build an on-site museum. Last year he founded the Quesnelle Forks Museum and Historical Society Inc.; then he begun a district-wide blitz to gain public support for his cause.
“I approached the government bodies that funded the restoration of Barkerville, but they turned me down; government spending had been cut right across the board. But the North Cariboo Share Our Resources Society liked my idea for a museum that would include displays on the modern logging era.” The society agreed to pay his advertising costs.
He recently acquired three trailers from the abandoned Spanish Lake Weldwood camp, and he hopes to use them to house historical displays. He plans to attract more tourists by teaching them to pan for gold, a la Barkerville. And he has written ads guaranteeing visitors will find gold-even though the river banks around Quesnel Forks and all the creeks in the area have long been combed dry by prospectors.
“I believe there’s still gold to be found, but to ensure visitors won’t come away empty-handed I’ll plant small nuggets in the soil,” he explains.
In addition to panning for gold, visitors will be treated to the unusual site of Mr. Hicks using a willow branch to dowse for gold, a gift he says he acquired three years ago. “I have proven I can find gold from an airplane, and when people see it for themselves it will amaze them.”
The grandiose schemes have drawn praise from Premier Mike Harcourt, who in an April 22 letter to Mr. Hicks, wrote: “Your lobbying efforts on behalf of both Likely and the tourism industry are well-taken. You and your friends are to be commended on your commitment to your community.” The premier explained that he forwarded some of Mr. Hicks’ recommendations to Minister of Forests Dan Miller, and Minister of Tourism Darlene Marzari. To date, neither has contacted Mr. Hicks.
“I’m hopeful Quesnel Forks as a money-making tourist site will eventually come to pass,” he says. “I’ve made copies of the original town map and I pass them out along with my business card wherever I go. People respond to the idea-especially those who need jobs.”
-Robin Brunet
British Columbia Report, August 31, 1992
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