Misplaced Pages

#661338

13-560: The name refers to a prospector who held placer leases in the area, a W. Polley. It is presumed that he is a "Mr. Polley" identified in the 1887 edition of the BC Mines Report, who prospected in the Kangaroo Creek- Quesnel Forks area. 52°33′24″N 121°38′09″W  /  52.55667°N 121.63583°W  / 52.55667; -121.63583  ( "Mount Polley" ) This article related to

26-546: A mountain, mountain range, or peak in British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in the Cariboo Regional District , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Quesnel Forks Quesnel Forks , historically Quesnelle Forks , also simply known as " The Forks " or grandly known as " Quesnel City "

39-586: A resident population of approximately 100. When gold was discovered on Antler, Lightning and Williams Creek, on the north side of the Snowshoe Plateau, prospectors and packers continued to use the route via Quesnel Forks until a decent trail system was established via the Quesnel and the Cottonwood rivers. The Quesnel Forks Bridge (initially a toll bridge) provided the only access to the village and

52-574: Is a ghost town in the Cariboo region of British Columbia , Canada . It is located the junction of the Quesnel and Cariboo Rivers and is 60 km southeast of Quesnel and only 11 km northwest of Likely . Quesnel Forks was founded in 1860 and was a major supply center for the Cariboo Gold Rush . Between 1860 and 1862 it catered to 2,000 or more transient miners annually and

65-684: Is considered the founding father of the Republic of China. Sun Yat-Sen began a campaign to overthrow the Manchu rulers of the Qing Dynasty. In 1904, a meeting took place between The Chee Kung Tong and Sun Yat-Sen in Hawaii. The purpose of the meeting was to rally nationalist support for a future revolution that would take place in 1911.The society also assisted in Sun Yat-Sen's campaign throughout

78-631: The Four Counties region of Guangdong Province, South China. Following completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway through Ashcroft in 1885 their population increased when discharged Chinese railroad labourers sought to make a living from gold mining. They were supported by a branch of the Chee Kung Tong Association who erected a two-storey building in the village. During that period the region contained

91-570: The assistance of local residents. Thanks to people like Brian Giesbrecht and his crew who have been restoring the old buildings to save them from a slow death into the soil, and from the river which is slowly eating away at the banks of the ghost town (half the town has been swept into the river over the past 8 years). Quesnel Forks was featured on the historical television series Gold Trails and Ghost Towns , season 1, episode 8. Chee Kung Tong The Chee Kung Tong ( Chinese : 致公堂 ; Jyutping : zi3 gung1 tong4 ), or Gee Kung Tong ,

104-587: The mining regions of Keithley Creek and the Snowshoe Plateau until the 1920s. However, when the Cariboo Wagon Road was completed in 1865, Quesnel Forks was bypassed and Barkerville became the major center of gold mining activity. By the mid-1870s most of the population had left, but a small, stable group of Chinese miners and merchants remained in Quesnel Forks which supported a widely dispersed mining community. Many of these people came from

117-614: The resources of the village. The horse trail to the Cariboo Road was widened into a wagon road and the Quesnel Forks Bridge strengthened to accommodate heavy wagons in 1895. In that same year a new jail was built at the rear of the Government Agent's house (shown at the head of the bridge in the above photo which should be dated 1899) and the land around these buildings kept vacant in case of fire. The town

130-558: The third largest group of Chinese residents after Victoria and Nanaimo. The CPR also facilitated a hydraulic mining boom in the Cariboo, delivering large mining equipment such as water canon and metal for pipes to Ashcroft. From there, ox teams and stage coaches transported equipment and mining speculators up the Cariboo Road to The Forks. The Bullion Pit mine nearby produced $ 1,233,936 (1900 dollar value) over eleven years and attracted large numbers of itinerant men who placed heavy demands on

143-551: Was a Chinese secret society established in 1880 and holds an active presence still. In earlier years, the society has also been recognized as the "Chinese Masons" and has been identified under various names such as Hongmen ( Chinese : 洪門 ), Hongshuntang ( Chinese : 洪順堂 ), and Yixingtang ( Chinese : 義興堂 ). The fraternity founded its headquarters in San Francisco in the United States. The Chee Kung Tong

SECTION 10

#1732772636662

156-482: Was established as an all-male fraternity with the purpose of promoting Chinese values, customs, and the ideals of democracy, within a tight-knit network of brotherhood that has ties dating back over three hundred years prior in China. The society is considered the oldest Chinese-rooted organization established in the United States. The Chee Kung Tong are most recognized for their political support of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen , who

169-550: Was not abandoned until the 1950s. Today, visitors to Quesnel Forks can explore the restored pioneer buildings and historic cemetery . Historical research and work projects began in the 1990s under the leadership of the Likely Cemetery Society and teacher/historian David Falconer. The cemetery area was cleared and secured, graves identified with headboards, and the Chee Kung Tong house stabilized with

#661338