Meet Billy Barker

Billy Barker was born somewhere around 1819 or 1820 in England. Unlike many of the miners that came to Barkerville (who were from richer families in Europe, and were not used to the difficult working conditions and long work days) Billy Barker came from a working-class family in England. Him and his father were “watermen.” Their job was to work on small wooden boats, moving grains, lumber, and other supplies around the small canals of England. However, around 1845, railroads started to take over most of the shipping business, leaving Billy Barker without work.      Next...

Photograph from Barkerville Archives. A-1144.