4 miles from Bralorne at BX Bluffs
The famed Bralorne and Pioneer mines constitute British Columbia's leading gold camp. In the 1860s prospectors from the Fraser River and Cariboo region found gold in the gravel of Bridge River. Hardrock claims were staked in the 1890s. More than $100,000,000 in gold has come from the rich ore of these mines since 1932.
The Bridge River Valley, known as "the land of plenty", was the common hunting grounds of the Lillooet and Chilcotin First Nations. The first reports of non-native prospectors on the river date from 1858. Placer mining went on for several years, but the largest recorded take was only $1,400 - small compared with strikes in the Cariboo.
The Pioneer, the older of the two major mines at Bridge River, was staked in 1897, and within five years $135,000 worth of gold had been taken. Production was sporadic until 1928 when Colonel Victor Spencer bought the mine. The Pioneer was joined with the Bralorne in 1959, but closed in 1961 when the ore was gone.
The Bralorne Mine was originally staked in 1896 and worked for several years in the early 1900s. A stamp mill began operation in 1916, but by 1920 the available ore had been exhausted. Eight years later the "Lorne" mine was incorporated, and in 1931 it was acquired by Austin Taylor who provided sufficient capital to permit the mine to extend to its real potential.
The Pioneer, Lorne, Coronation and Ida May mines all started up between 1897 and 1911. Occasional interest in reactivating mining in the area is usually short-lived. The ruins of the Pioneer Mine are visble from the road leading to Bralorne at Cadwallader Creek. A number of mining buildings remain at Bralorne, one of which houses the museum, open during the summer.
