In the midst of the Rock Creek Gold Rush, another minor gold rush known was taking place. Similar to Rock Creek, the Similkameen or Blackfoot Gold Rush was amongst a series of small rushes that occurred in parallel to the finds along the Fraser River.
It all began when gold was found in the upper Similkameen River in 1860. This river runs through southern interior of British Columbia all the way to its discharge point into the Okanagan River in Washington. Spanning roughly 116 miles long, the river is named after the indigenous people called the Similkameen, which means “treacherous waters”.
The gold discovery led to a small settlement burgeoning in the area, which later became the town of Blackfoot. A neighboring settlement called Blackwood Flat also sprung up seven miles southwest of Princeton, which lies just east of the Cascade Mountains.
Unlike Rock Creek, Blackfoot was characterized by the more common boom-bust cycle of a mining ghost town. Because of the difficulty mining from high-water operations, as well as heightened mineral interest elsewhere in British Columbia, the population of the town fell just as quickly as it had arisen. Records show that by the summer of 1861, there were only around 50 people left.
Despite this, one of the original participants of the Similkameen Rush decided to try his luck six years later. Having just completed several years successfully prospecting around Montana and the Kootenays, Jackass John set off to Similkameen to mine the exact same spot he had found gold in 1860. This proved to be a profitable venture, as records show that John made $900 worth of gold finds in a mere two weeks.
Placer gold diggings continued into the 1880s, although at a smaller scale compared to the nearby areas. Mining activity in the South Fork of the Similkameen River also led to the founding of Granite Creek and Tulameen, two other areas of interest for gold panning. Hopeful prospectors spread out throughout the river canyons to mine for gold, and even after the rush was long over there were still individual miners working the area.
There is still quite a bit of placer mining taking place in this area today. This area is also known to have some placer platinum deposits. Gold panners should check the contents of their pan carefully and look for small specks of white metal amongst the gold and black sands.
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