In early 2015, Barkerville’s Eldorado Gold Panning & Gifts underwent successful foundation and structural repairs, preserving the character of the original 1930s building as per the official Standards & Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada.
The Barkerville Heritage Trust thanks Algonquin Contracting, as well as the Eldorado’s licence holders and staff for excellent work and co-operation during the project.
On Sept. 26, a reconstruction of the 1934 Barkerville School (which burned to the ground in 1946) was officially opened, after four years of extensive planning and construction, and is now available for activities and programming.
A number of partners contributed to the Barkerville School project, including the province of British Columbia, Barkerville Historic Town & Park staff, C & C Wood Products of Quesnel, the College of New Caledonia, the Friends of Barkerville, Paul Galliazzo and Stephanie Waring, the Rotary Club of Quesnel, the Royal Bank of Canada, TELUS, West Fraser Mills, Willis Harper Home Hardware and others.
After 20 years of research and planning, an authentic replica of Billy Barker’s Barker & Co. Discovery Shaft and Shaft House was officially opened, complete with fully-operational windlass and sluice box displays and bench seating for interpretive programming on Sept. 26.
Contributing partners to the Barker & Co. Discovery Shaft and Shaft House include Pioneer Log Homes of British Columbia, HGTV’s Timber Kings, John and Hazel Massie, Barkerville Historic Town & Park staff, Dave Brown Enterprises, the Friends of Barkerville and others.
The 2015 Barkerville season resulted in a recent-history attendance record of 60,371 visitors between May 15 and Sept. 27.
This is the first year since 2010 Barkerville has exceeded 60,000 guests.
A variety of factors impacted attendance, including a number of recent improvements to the town and park, amplified earned-media and marketing strategies, and increased overall provincial tourism numbers.
“The Barker & Co. Discovery Shaft and Shaft House reconstruction will be a remarkable legacy for visitors to Barkerville for generations to come. We cannot thank the team from Pioneer Log Homes and HGTV’s Timber Kings enough for providing us with this lasting opportunity, and look forward to seeing the lasting results – both on site, and on film,” says Ed Coleman, chief executive officer of Barkerville Historic Town & Park.
