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Pollard's Cornish Ranch and Roadhouse |
Thomas Davidson, anticipating the sale of his Mission Creek farm and roadhouse in 1861, began to acquire land near the head of William's lake.
He established a "camp" in November 1861, approximately at the site where "Davidson's Lake Valley Ranch" would later be located. For the first year Davidson lived in a tent in which he also operated a store and saloon.
That same year Davidson Bros. Ranching Co. lent money to Wright and Galbraith, the roadbuilders, on condition that the road would go past 150 Mile House. By 1863 he had accumulated nearly 2000 acres in the vicinity - of which he had cultivated 175
Part of Davidson's success in operations lay in his hiring of a crew of 16 men who constructed various buildings on the site. These were men who had tried mining and were unsuccessful. The roadhouse,"a large, square, unfinished house" was completed by October 1863 and served as hotel, bar, general store, post office, and stage stop. The small building was later replaced by a large two story roadhouse with barns and outbuildings, located close to Valley Creek in the rise above today's highway 97- the northwest corner of the present community of 150 Mile House. This roadhouse was declared one of the best in British Columbia. However, by 1864 Davidson was in serious financial trouble. By the time he fled the country in the spring of 1864, Davidson had borrowed money in mortgage from Edward Tormey, and was also in debt to Wright for $600 (p87, B.Patenaude:1996).
Tormey retained the land but sold the roadhouse, in August 1869, to Samuel Adler and Thomas Barry, former owners of the Gazelle Saloon in Barkerville. The partners were out of business due to a fire that leveled Barkerville on 16 September 1869. Fortunately, by 1870,a new gold strike in Omineca, an area northwest of the Cariboo, had increased traffic along the Cariboo road dramatically and business at 150 Mile House was renewed. Traffic at the 150 Mile House is associated with the Cariboo camels.
Adler and Barry operated the roadhouse for a period of two years. Edward Tormey, a cattleman and butcher remained to operate ranch until spring of 1871, when he left on a short trip to California.
Martin Tormey, Edward's brother, and Adler and Barry, owners of the roadhouse, sold the property to Aschel Sumner Bates of Boston. A miner, who switched to cattle ranching, Bates had 200 acres of land, a roadhouse, a store, and a blacksmith shop on the property.
He leased the operations of the holdings and stores to various persons. In 1875, 150 Mile House was operated by the one-handed James Griffin, who was also the postmaster.
(p89, B.Patenaude:1996).
Bates died of a heart attack on New Year's Day, in 1879, at 50 years of age. Just prior to his death Bates sold the ranch to Gavin Hamilton, retired Hudson's Bay Company factor, of Fort St. James.
Of Scottish decent, Hamilton and his wife, Margaret Ogden, retired at the ranch. Hamilton paid $35000 for the property, including the flour and sawmill machinery. The roadhouse and postoffice continued to be run by James Griffin. Within only a few months the sawmill and storehouse burned to the ground.
The following spring the land was swept away by floods. These losses were estimated at $25000. However, despite the devastation, the roadhouse business appeared quite normal. Hamilton sold the ranch for $5000 to George Veith and Bob Borland of Keithley Creek in 1883.
It took several years of steady work for the partners to restore the roadhouse and ranch to its former state. Luckily the Cariboo road was busy and the ranch was reputedly run in "good style." By the 1890's the interests of Veith and Borland began to break up. Borland had bought the Pinchbeck farm in 1899 and Veith, whose health was failing, went into semi-retirement at Keithley Creek. The partnership dissolved. The ranch and hotel were sold for $90000 to an English syndicate, the Cariboo Trading Company. In 1912 the property was reported to have been enlarged from 1500 acres to 4000, with a cattle herd of 800 head, and evaluated at $220000. The site was one of the three overnight stage stops on the Cariboo Road, those of the BC Express Company, which kept a stable at the roadhouse. Government buildings and a police station were added to the site (p93, B.Patenaude:1996).
150 Mile House burned to the ground 13 February 1916. Following the fire, the Cariboo Trading Company continued to operate the store and ranch, but did not rebuild the hotel.
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