Barkerville history celebrated in documentary series
'Bonepickers' Amy Newman and Richard Wright go far afield to tell stories of Barkervillians
There may seem like no shortage of stories from the gold rush town of Barkerville, but a pair of researchers have gone rather far afield to find stories of Barkerville's citizens.
Amy Newman and Richard Wright are historians behind The Bonepicker series of mini-documentaries about interesting Barkervillians whose stories didn't end in the historic Cariboo town. Their research took them across North America as they looked at where these people came from and where they went afterwards.
"I just find their stories fascinating," Wright told Radio West host Audrey McKinnon. "It also just satisfies an innate interest I've got and that Amy has … it just gives us a lot of satisfaction and it's fun to get the stories out there."
- Gold Rush-era general store from 1914 offered to Williams Lake
- Barkerville circle route through Cariboo region proposed
Wright says his favourite story in the series is the one of Col. John Van Houten, a gold miner and merchant who later went to Tombstone, Arizona, to try his luck in the silver rush of the 1870s.
"He had a run-in with Frank Stilwell, who murdered Van Houten," Wright said. "Two years later, gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and Wyatt Earp avenges Col. John Van Houten by killing Frank Stilwell. He was actually avenging his brother, but in doing so, he spoke for Col. John Van Houten."
In making their documentary, Newman and Wright found Van Houten's cabin, and stood in the spot where he was killed in 1871, which Wright described as a "moving" experience.
Wright says the videos were produced after a successful crowdfunding campaign, and he's hoping an upcoming second campaign will give him and Newman enough money to follow a second set of Barkerville stories to Europe.
The videos are being exhibited at Barkerville itself — the historical site's 2016 season begins on May 19 — and will also be posted on Vimeo.
With files from CBC Radio One's Radio West
To hear the full story, click the audio labelled: Avenged by Wyatt Earp: doc series tells stories of interesting people of Barkerville history