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Upon hearing the news, a hapless British miner named William “Billy” Barker decided to try his luck at nearby Williams Creek. In 1862, he too struck gold. Bustling towns full of miners then began to spring up around the Cariboo goldfields, including one named after Billy Barker himself.
Williams Creek was discovered in 1861 by William “Dutch Bill” Dietz, and named in his honour, and became the most re-known gold producer in British Columbia. Dietz and two companions came into the area over the divide from Keithley Creek in February, 1861.
The town of Richfield was born in 1862, named for the rich gold claim found at that part of Williams Creek by a miner named Bill Cunningham. Soon people came from all around and built several saloons, a jail, a courthouse, and the St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church.
As the gold in the gravel bars of the lower Fraser declined, prospectors followed the river north, eventually reaching the rich gold-bearing creeks of the Cariboo. In 1861, a party led by William "Dutch Bill" Dietz, found gold in a stream they named Williams Creek in Dutch Bill's honor.
The Cariboo Gold Rush was a gold rush in the Colony of British Columbia, which later became the Canadian province of British Columbia. The first gold discovery was made at Hills Bar in 1858, followed by more strikes in 1859 on the Horsefly River, and on Keithley Creek and Antler Creek in 1860.
Barkerville was named in 1863 for Billy Barker (1817-1894). Barker struck gold on Williams Creek, making the most famous claim of the Cariboo - Barker eventually made $500,000! At first, the town was just collection of miners' cabins and a few stores.
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Dec 1, 2010 · The frenzy spread north to Keithley Creek, Quesnelle Forks and, by 1861, to Richfield on Williams Creek. In 1862, William "Billy" Barker registered a claim downstream from Richfield, from which $650 000 (at $16 to $21 a troy ounce) in gold was recovered up to 1895.