Place

Barkerville, British Columbia

Date

Manufactured mid 1800s, modified 1860 - 1870

Materials & techniques

Steel axe head with wooden handle; Barker Co. name hand punched with blacksmith tools

Credit

Manufactured by the Douglas Manufacturing Company, modified for the Barker Co.

ID

Barkerville Historic Town and Park 1958.0006.0046

On August 17^th, 1862, Billy Barker and his partners hit the most famous strike in the region and within 10 hours, brought out nearly 8 pounds of gold. The town of Barkerville, located in what was to become central British Columbia, sprang up around this legendary gold find and continues to thrive today.

The Barker Co. inscription on this axe indicates that this may be the very axe Billy Barker and his partners used to build the cribbing and supports of their mine shaft as they dug down through 40 feet of cold, wet gravel in search of gold. When the town of Barkerville was officially declared a historic site, this broadaxe was one of the first artifacts donated to the Barkerville museum's collection.