In the year 1862 G.B. Wright and J.C.Calbraith were given a contract to construct 130 miles of road from Clinton to Soda Creek. Early in the year, the road had progressed about 20 miles north of Clinton.

To them it appeared a logical place for a stopover. So, they built a wayside house, which they named 70 Mile House, since it was 70 miles from the wagon road at Lillooet.

However, the two were not the first to pre-empt the site of 70 Mile House.

In September 1862 Charles Adrian pre-empted the land and began constructing "a good log house", built of hand-hewn, squared timbers which extended the full length of the structure and were pinned together at the corners with steel bolts.

During the first season the 70 Mile House served as a hostel for G.B. Wright's road crew. In April 1863 Wright purchased the property.

By mid 1870's, as the crews moved north, Wright had mortgaged or leased the property several times to various prospectors. In 1869, after regaining title of the property, Wright sold the roadhouse to J.M. Rodgers and Edward Fisher.

By May of 1875 the 70 Mile House was transferred to the Saul brothers, John and William of Clinton, who operated the ranch for the next ten years as a dairy farm. So over the years the 70 Mile Roadhouse had several names, for a time known as "Graham's", "Saul's"(of Saul and Company).
(p17, B.Patenaude:1996).

BC ARCHIVES E-05501

In 1897, a Crown Grant was issued to William Boyd after he bought the property at the 70 Mile House from Saul and Company.

The Boyd family operated the roadhouse for the next twenty years, including the dairy farm. The Boyd family also enlarged the facilities by adding a single-storey freight shed on to the north end of the roadhouse, which eventually contained twenty-eight rooms.

Stagecoaches arrived frequently at the 70 Mile House and Cataline's pack-train of mules was unloaded at the spot
(p19, B.Patenaude:1996).