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Pollard's Cornish Ranch and Roadhouse 59 Mile House |
North of Clinton, the Cariboo wagon road took a different route than the present highway.
A 1914 survey shows the road leaving Clinton slightly to the north of the present road. It then follows the same route as the present secondary route through District Lots 245, 246, 247 (Pollard's Ranch) where it turns northward.
The wagon road passes through an unsurveyed area until it meets the Cariboo Highway, then continues along the same route as a gravel road located west of the highway. It follows this same route until it meets the highway, then continues along the same route as the existing secondary road which leads to Chasm Provincial park. The wagon road arrived at 59 Mile House, located in District Lot 384
Isaac Saul and William Innes pre-empted the land at the head of the chasm, where they established 59 Mile House. The two were entrepreneurs who had worked on G.B. Wright's road-building project in the Cut-off Valley.
A partnership lasted until 1867 when Saul bought out Innes of the roadhouse. The firm became Saul and Company. 59 Mile was a business investment owned and operated by many. During 1890's it is owned by Peter Eagan and managed by Arthur Switzer. At this time
the property was surveyed and a Crown Grant was issued
Peter Eagan purchased this lot which was surveyed 31 October 1896. At that time 59 Mile Hotel and a blacksmith shop were noted on the lot. The hotel is reported to have burned to the ground in 1946 and no remains are visible at present.
The original wagon road is not recognisable following development of the present paved road. Currently the Cariboo Highway passes to the north of this area.
The original Wagon Road is extant for several kilometers east of Chasm Provincial Park until it is obliterated by a main line logging road.
In 1947 the site of the 59 Mile House was bypassed by Highway 97, but was still accessible by way of the Chasm road. On 30 June 1948, a year after the road had been changed, the 59 Mile House burned to the ground in a spectacular fire, though by some to be an "insurance fire".
Today a provincial park surrounds the area of Painted Chasm, and visitors may picnic there with a pleasant view of the original 1862 Wagon Road and the site of historic 59 Mile House
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