Yale

Like Hope and Fort Langley, Yale was also a Hudson's Bay Company trading post before the gold rush days. By 1858 thousands of miners arrived at Yale by steamer. Some stayed to prospect on the shores of the Fraser around Fort Yale while others embarked on bold journeys on foot, and later by wagon, through the cliffs and precipices of the Fraser Canyon. In 1862, Yale became the southern terminus and the second mile zero (see Road to Riches story) of the Cariboo Wagon Road. Today, Yale is a thriving and welcoming community of 250 people. Historic Yale, found just off the highway, can't be (and shouldn't be) missed. It includes the 1863 Church of St. John the Divine, the oldest church on the B.C. mainland and the Yale Museum, which houses First Nations', railway, and gold rush history. The National Monument to the Chinese railway workers is located on the museum grounds. A little ways down the highway you'll find the Teague House, the oldest remaining residence in the Fraser Canyon. Built in 1864, it was first home to John Trutch, surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, and later to William Teague, one of the Colonial Government's Gold Commissioners. Just two minutes south of Yale is the town's enchanting pioneer cemetery.