Description
Cottonwood House, located 28 kilometres east of Quesnel, BC, comprises 10.68 hectares of agricultural land in a pastoral environment adjacent to the Cottonwood River. This historic place includes ten historic structures, including wooden domestic and farm buildings, and a portion of the original Cariboo Waggon Road.
Heritage Value
Cottonwood House is valued as an excellent example of the legacy of commercial enterprise and settlement associated with travel and transportation along the Cariboo Waggon Road. The value of this place lies in its situation on the historic route of the Waggon Road, and in its various historic functions as a roadhouse, ranch, farm, telegraph station, post office, and social and commercial hub of the area. It also holds significant heritage value in its association with the Boyd family, who owned the property and conducted business here between 1874 and 1951.
The roadhouse, general store, various farm structures, and their pastoral surroundings are integral to the heritage value of this place, as they provide a tangible example of the early nonnative settlement and commerce which were driven by the nineteenth-century quest for gold in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. It is also noteworthy that Cottonwood House has survived as one of the few remaining examples of a Cariboo roadhouse which flourished after the peak of gold-rush activity.
Source: BC Heritage Branch Properties Files
Character Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of Cottonwood House include: