Lillooet (population 2,500) owes its existence to the so-called "Cariboo Gold-Rush" of 1858. It stood at the end of the Harrison trail, a canoe route up the Fraser River bypassing the Fraser Canyon.
It was here that the gold hunters exchanged their canoes for ox-carts before setting off up the "Cariboo Road", and to cater for them a settlement
quickly became established on the Cayoosh Flats. By 1860 the shanty town of log huts and tents was at times filled to overflowing with as many as 16,000 inhabitants. The Pacific Great Eastern Railway line reached Lillooet in 1912.
Be sure to visit the Lillooet Museum in the former Anglican Church (Main St.; open Jul./Aug. 9.30am-5.30pm, May/Jun. and Sep./Oct. 1-4pm). It is full of memorabilia from the gold-rush days. Also interesting are the "0" milestone on the old Cariboo Road and the "Hanging Tree" where rough frontier justice was meted out to law-breakers. In 1980 the name of the old Fraser Bridge was changed to the "Bridge of the 23 Camels", commemorating the animals imported from Asia in 1862 by an enterprising entrepreneur who intended to introduce them into the mines as beasts of burden. Having frightened the life out of the local people and their horses the camels were eventually set free. Mineral collectors will enjoy sifting through the gravel for jade and semi-precious stones.
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