Some stories say Peter Dunlevy only found the Horsefly River because he was poor with maps, or because his mule stubbornly refused to ford the Quesnel. Whatever the tale, chance seemed to play a part.
But the records give a fuller picture. In April 1859, a party led by H.O. Bowe found colour ten miles above the mouth of the Horsefly River. Later that same year, Dunlevy and his companion John McLean also discovered gold in the Horsefly. Their success wasn’t a stroke of luck alone.
Tomaah, the son of Chief Lolo of Kamloops, had told Dunlevy about deposits of river gold. Wanting to travel on to the Indian Games at Lac La Hache, Tomaah could not accompany him, so Dunlevy was guided into Horsefly by his friend Baptiste (known in Secwepemc as Long Bacheese). Baptiste’s knowledge of the land and the stories he had heard made him an indispensable companion.
Dunlevy and McLean began to pan. The gravel bars of the Horsefly quickly showed colour, and news spread fast. Within weeks, other prospectors arrived to test their luck. Mining records from 1896 confirm that at least two other groups also made claims in 1859, reinforcing the idea that Horsefly was a hub of early attention, not just a footnote.
Though Horsefly never grew to rival Barkerville or Quesnel Forks in scale or fame, the community has never forgotten its place in history. Locals long argued that it was here, not elsewhere, that the first true discovery of gold in British Columbia was made.
The facts are clear enough: Dunlevy and McLean panned colour on the Horsefly in 1859, guided by Baptiste, who carried with him the knowledge shared by Tomaah. What endures is more than just a record of names and dates. It is the story of how Indigenous knowledge, settler ambition, and the twists of geography combined to place Horsefly at the beginning of BC’s gold story.
Fact and pride intertwine, but the significance remains: on the bends of the Horsefly River, a quiet valley stepped into history, and its people still remember.
Sources
- Horsefly Historical Society Archives: Discovery of Gold in Horsefly (Bowe party, Dunlevy and McLean, guided by Baptiste and informed by Tomaah, 1859). Mining Records, 1896.
- Jack-Lynn Memorial Museum, Horsefly: supporting archival materials and photographs.