In Part 1 of our two-part series about British Columbia’s ghost towns, we explored an influential event in the province’s labour history: the 1935 Corbin Miners’ Strike.
This week, we’re taking a look at Barkerville’s Chinatown, one of the first established Chinatown neighbourhoods in Western North America. While often historically omitted from B.C.’s ghost town narratives, Barkerville’s Chinese community was instrumental to the success of the booming industry town.
The beginning of Barkerville
Perhaps the province’s most popular ghost town, Barkerville is a preserved historic heritage site located on the territory of the Dakelh and Secwepemc peoples in B.C.’s Cariboo region.
Barkerville in early days (1865)
It was the largest town erected during the Cariboo Gold Rush, developing rapidly after gold was first discovered in Williams Creek in 1862.
“A gold-mine at Barkerville” (illustration published 1955)
The Chinese community of Barkerville
Though not always historically acknowledged, Chinese residents of Barkerville had a major impact on the town’s growth and prosperity. Having ventured from China and California after hearing of the abundance of gold in the area, Barkerville’s Chinese inhabitants constituted half of the town’s population at its peak of 5,600 residents.
However, Chinese prospectors were subject to discriminatory restrictions that permitted them to pan solely in areas already searched by white prospectors. This, combined with a depletion of the region’s gold, meant that only some of Barkerville’s Chinese residents found wealth in the gold mining industry. Others made up a large component of the town’s workforce, helping to sustain the busy community’s food service, transportation, and agricultural industries.
Street Scene, Barkerville (1867 or 1868)
Chinatown
Barkerville’s Chinese community built a bustling Chinatown neighbourhood which housed restaurants, shops, and social services. They held cultural events and community meetings, and in 1872, even put on two Chinese-language operas.
The most successful Chinese business venture was Kwong Lee & Co., an importer and wholesaler with subsidiaries in other B.C. mining towns. The company was well-respected and heavily patronized, providing merchandise such as rice, tea, cigars, clothing, and prescription drugs to many Barkerville shops and restaurants.
Kwong Lee & Co advertisement from 1868 Victoria Directory (included in B.C. Historical News, 1985)
Chinatown also housed several benevolent society spaces. Tai Ping Fong (“the Peace Room”) was a space for caring for the elderly or sick, similar to a modern nursing home.
The Chee Kung Tong building, a benevolent society hall, hosted celebrations and ceremonies, public affairs meetings, and other social events. It also contained a small hostel and kitchen to support Chinese newcomers.
The Chee Kung Tong building (published in British Columbia History, 2009)
For members of the Chinese diaspora living in the Cariboo region, the Chee Kung Tong building was a deeply important cultural space, as it enabled them to maintain a connection to their homeland. In 2007, it was named a National Historic Site of Canada, in part because it is one of the few remaining examples of Chinese Canadian benevolent society architecture from this era.
After the gold rush…
As the gold rush ended and the town’s population began to decline, some Chinese residents returned to China, while others stayed in Barkerville or moved to other Canadian communities.
Today, Barkerville Historic Town & Park is home to the largest collection of Chinese structures. This includes the aforementioned Tai Ping Fong and Chee Kung Tong buildings, as well as Sing Kee Herbalist, Lee Chung Laundry, and more. Visitors can even get a meal at the fully restored Chinatown restaurant Lung Duck Tong.
Despite the deep structural inequality and mistreatment Chinese people experienced in B.C. and Canada during this time, Barkerville’s Chinese residents built a thriving Chinatown neighbourhood. While Chinese workers have often been unjustly excluded from Canadian labour histories, Barkerville’s Chinese community is now deservedly recognized as a fundamental part of the town’s historical and cultural identity.
The enduring intrigue of B.C.’s ghost towns
British Columbia is dotted with dozens of other ghost towns with fascinating pasts. Bradian, Kitsault, and Sandon are just a few others that offer insights into the province’s complicated labour, resource extraction, and industrial development histories.
Former City Hall at Sandon (1971)
Have you ever visited a British Columbia ghost town? Let us know in the comments below!
References
Heritage BC. (n.d.). Barkerville’s clan association sites. https://heritagebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Barkerville-Clan-Assoc-and-Society-Bldgs.pdf
Mussett, B. (n.d.) Barkerville’s Chinatown. British Columbia: An untold history. https://bcanuntoldhistory.knowledge.ca/1860/barkervilles-chinatown
Zhao, L. (2021, December 14). Barkerville: The Chinese gold rush. CBC News. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/en/news/1847179/barkerville-china-gold-rush-history
