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In 1859, gold was discovered at Rock Creek, just east of the Okanagan Valley. It was hard to collect taxes and provide supplies for the miners who rushed in to the area. So BC Governor James Douglas hired Edgar Dewdney to build a trail from Fort Hope on the Fraser River to Rock Creek, passing over the rugged Cascade Mountains and along the Similkameen Valley. Construction of the Dewdney Trail began in 1860. The first portion of the trail ran from Hope to Princeton, and it was completed in 1861. The trail was 4 feet (1.3 m) wide. |
Logs were placed across the wet places in the trail. A road made of logs was known as a corduroy road. In 1861, the trail was extended to Rock Creek. In 1865, it was extended again to Wild Horse Creek in the East Kootenays. This narrow, 290-mile (467-kilometre) trail could be considered the first provincial highway. |
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