70 Mile House

Charles Adrian
When, in late 1862, G.B. Wright's team of workers reached this point of their construction they came across a new log house being built. The builder was Charles Adrian, who had pre-empted the property in September of that year.

Gustavus Blin Wright
Wright was one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the Cariboo during gold rush times. Wright, from Burlington, Vermont, had arrived in British Columbia on February 28, 1862 aboard the Brother Jonathan and almost immediately formed partnerships to operate a line of vessels between San Francisco and New Westminster.

He saw great many advantages in the construction of an improved wagon road into the Cariboo since this would enable him to profit not only on the building of the roads, but also in the future enterprises along the road.

He won contracts to build parts of the wagon road, he owned a sternwheeler that ran on the Upper Fraser, he was a partner in a freighting firm operating on the old Douglas Trail out of Port Douglas, and he ran a toll brigde at Bridge River. Born in Vermont, USA in 1832, he had headed west to California to mine gold, but he also had some engineering training. He bought 70 Mile House in 1863 after having used it as a hostel for his workers over the winter of 1862-63. He leased it to a variety of operators over the years.

J.M. Rodgers and Edward Fisher
These two entrepreneurs bought the roadhouse from Wright in 1869.

John and William Saul
As Saul & Company, these brothers of Issac Saul at 59 Mile gained control of house by late spring 1875.

William Boyd
An Irishman known to be honest and good-hearted, Boyd arrived in the area as a worker on the Canadian Pacific Railroad in the 1870s. He worked as the district road superintendent after moving to Clinton. Boyd married Mary Nicholson, niece of Clinton's Ewan Bell, and had several children. Tired of amount of travel required by his job, he bought the roadhouse in the 1880s and operated it and the accompanying dairy for 20 years.