On the scenic Fraser Canyon Highway #1, Yale Historic Site takes you back to the boom years during the Fraser Gold Rush. In its heyday, Fort Yale was one of the largest cities west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. With its influx of Gold Rushers, Yale gained a reputation as for it’s wild ways, truly Canada’s Wild West.
The town had boom and bust years for nearly a century, until its most recent and seemingly final decline came with the building of the Coquihala Highway, which bypasses the town.
Today, the village still remains, with historic buildings interspersed but much of the Yale Historic Site centres on the 1870s Creighton House. Creighton House is holds the museum, rooms filled with donated and collected artefacts and photographs, from First Nations, Pioneer and Chinese communities, depicting life during the Gold Rush and Railway years. Outside the House, the Living History Tent City shows more details of the Gold Rush. Try your hand at Gold Panning or take a look at the General Store, Doctors, Saloon, Chinese Worker’s Dorms, Jail and Stables and see how life was lived in the 19th Century. The, now deconsecrated, 1863 St John The Divine Church is still available for weddings and special events.
Yale Historic Site is open seasonally April – October, 10am-5pm
Visitor guides are available at the Museum.
Admission:
Family Passes (2 adults + 3 children) – $25
Adults – $9.50
Youth (7-18), Seniors, Students – $7.00
For more information visit historicyale.ca