SCOPE AND NATURE OF THE STUDY

Williams Lake. Borland Ranch, [ca. 1923]

This study is intended to document the history of cattle ranching in the Cariboo and Chilcotin regions with particular attention to the central Cariboo area around Williams Lake and Lac la Hache. The final report will cover the period from the first settlement to the present day but will focus primarily on the period prior to 1930.

As there is some difficulty in establishing the boundaries of the Cariboo region and various government bodies have established arbitrary divisions referred to as "Cariboo, it is necessary to be clear as to the geographic area that is under study. In the earliest days of the gold rush to the interior of British Columbia, the term "Cariboo" referred to the mountainous region north of Quesnelle Forks but, as the settlement occurred along the Cariboo Wagon Road, the term came to include all the area north of Clinton as far as Fort George. Although the name "Lillooet" came to be applied to a large area including the Clinton district, it was customary to include the Clinton region in the Cariboo district, as indicated by the circulation of the Williams Lake newspaper and the administration of agriculture from that city. Moreover, the climate and the ranching practices of the Clinton area are closer to those of the more northerly areas than those of the open ranges of the southern interior.

The Chilcotin region, while differing in the early settlement and development history, also partakes of the same ranching practices and climatic tendencies as that area east of the Fraser River. Although it was an isolated area in the early years of settlement, the Chilcotin always looked to the area east of the Fraser for supplies and communications. In more recent times, because of modern transportation routes, remote places such as Kleena Kleene and Hanceville use Williams Lake as their supply centre.

For this reason, the study will include the entire area of the Cariboo-Chilcotin, meaning that area bounded on the south by Clinton and on the north by Quesnel, extending to Alexis Creek on the west and Horsefly on the east. The study will focus on that area centring on Williams Lake and Lac la Hache while including the history of ranching in the entire Cariboo-Chilcotin.

History of Cariboo Ranching
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