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Early History Of Cache Creek
 
by John Stewart

Two stories have been circulated concerning the origin of the name "Cache Creek". The newer one is that the creek and town are named for "Mr. Cache" who settled along the creek in the 1850's. The older and more popular story is that a bandit escaping from a posse after robbing a gold shipment from Barkerville hid or "cached" his loot somewhere along the creek. This story has the added allure that the hidden gold was never recovered, and may still be waiting for a lucky finder.

Both of these stories are false without a shred of evidence to support them. In fact, the name "Cache Creek" goes back much further than either story would allow, to the fur trade era when the sole inhabitants of the B.C. Interior were the Indians and the occasional fur trader.

The name "Cache Creek" appears on two early maps made in the 1830's. David Douglas, a botanist who traveled through the region in 1833, left a hand-sketched map of his journey. On it he marked "Cache River" which flowed into the Bonaparte River. An 1835 map of the Thompson River region attributed to fur trader Samuel Black also refers to the same river.

Later maps from the 1850's and 1860's refer to the creek variously as Riviere de la Cache, River de la Cache and Cache River. Clearly, the creek was originally given a French name, as was the Bonaparte River and Hat Creek, which was originally named Riviere aux Chapeaux. This stems from the days when most of the early fur traders were Canadiens and spoke French. As time went on, most of the French names were translated into English, but Cache Creek was left, since "cache" is used in English as well.

The "cache" in Cache Creek probably means that the locale was used by the fur traders as a cache or storage place for furs, fish and supplies. Such caches were commonly used by both Indians and white traders. Tete Jaune Cache on the Yellowhead Highway has similar origins. Then as now, Cache Creek was a stopover on the way to somewhere else.

Since the original Cariboo Road began at Lillooet and went to the Cariboo by way of Clinton, Cache Creek was of little importance during the early years of the gold rush. In the meantime, though, farmers and ranchers began to settle in the region. Probably the first was Donald McLean who, after retiring from the Hudson's Bay Company, moved his family from Kamloops to the mouth of Hat Creek in 1860. There he founded the earliest cattle ranch in the B.C. Interior.

William H. Sandford was possibly the first person to settle in the Cache Creek valley itself. Since he was an American, he was known as a "Boston Man" by the Indians, and Boston Flats, just south of Cache Creek today, is named for him. Another early settler was Captain Cavendish Venables, who arrived in 1862 but left two years later. In 1863, William Hood, who was living at Cache Creek, undertook the contract to build the section of the new Cariboo Road from Cook's Ferry (now Spence's Bridge) to Clinton.

The building of the road brought about Cache Creek's first hotel or stopping house in 1863 or 1864. It was built by James Orr at Rattlesnake Hill about a mile below the bridge over the creek. In 1865, Semlin and Parke bought him out, moved the hotel to Cache Creek proper, and renamed it Bonaparte House.

Charles A. Semlin arrived in B.C. from Ontario in 1862, and in 1864 he was working for the Cornwall brothers. He ran the Bonaparte House from 1865 to 1968 with Philip Parke, who had also worked for the Cornwalls. At that time, Parke sold his interest to Sandford and started ranching near Hat Creek. The Parke family still operates this ranch today, which includes Donald McLeans' original ranch and roadhouse.

Charles Semlin gave up his part of the hotel in 1870 when he purchased James Campbell's Bonaparte Ranch just east of Cache Creek. The Semlin Ranch became a well-known establishment in B.C., especially after Charles Semlin turned to politics. First elected to the Provincial Legislature in 1872, he served the Yale riding continuously to 1900. In 1882, he became leader of the opposition and finally served as Premier of B.C. from 1898 to 1900. He died at Cache Creek in 1927 at age 91.

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