Sketched and written in 2003: Cariboo towns like Clinton – 47 Mile House in the early years – and 70 Mile House have existed always as way stations for travellers. Today, although there are many fine old buildings in Clinton, the old gas stations and tire shops best reflect (to me) the heritage of the Cariboo Road. This building, closed up and for sale (Kelly Adamski, Remax, 1-800-557-7355) was built perhaps in the '30s or '40s? Does anyone know its history?

Clinton Hotel, c. 1950, photo by Ken Sigfusson. Built in 1862, it was one of the most venerable and significant buildings in the BC Interior. There is a detailed history of it in Branwen Patenaude's Trails to Gold, pp. 85-7. Erected by Watson and Co., it had a large barroom, a private sitting room, bedrooms with "Pulu" mattresses, free bunks for those who brought their own blankets, and good food. It survived for almost a century, its billiard room becoming the scene of the annual ball. Ironically, it was after the ball in May, 1958--the province's centennial--that the hotel caught fire. All the guests got out except for a couple and their child who, although awakened by the manager, went back to sleep and were killed in the blaze. The remains of the hotel's foundations are still visible on the vacant lot near the north end of downtown Clinton.

Note from Heather Passmore: In 1968-69 my father and some others were living in a very old homesteader type house close to the Reynolds' Ranch in the Clinton area. This building was inhabited by someone in the depression and later by my dad and other hippies in the late 60's with the permission of the Reynolds family. It is thought that it is still inhabited by the children of Frank and Chris Baranjas, who were living "off the land" there with my dad. The closest town to it is French Bar. It is on the West side of the Fraser River. There was a drug bust there for 10 marijuana plants among their garden that made the local news, as well as the Province.