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HomeNews100 Mile HouseStanley Lightning Hotel To Be Added to Regional Heritage Registry

Stanley Lightning Hotel To Be Added to Regional Heritage Registry

A historic hotel located in what was once a gold mining community east of Quesnel will be included on the Cariboo Regional District Heritage Registry.

Cariboo Regional District Directors supported the recommendation Friday (May 3) at their regular board meeting.

“I think the Stanley Hotel along Lightning Creek in Area C is the last building of the old town of Stanley so it’s nice to its recognition as part of the heritage of our region,” said Area C Director, John Massier.

“I think it’s a welcomed addition to the list.”

The history of the Lightning Hotel according to Robin Sharpe and Karen Olsen goes back to the original Cariboo Gold Rush when in 1873, the first proprietor William Houseman, known as the Duke of York, renamed his Yorkville Saloon “The Lightning Hotel”.

“The present Lightning Hotel dates back to the era of stagecoach service (pre-automobile) and is the last remaining building from the La Fontaine/Eleven of England Mine,” Sharpe and Olsen said.

“It is also valued for its location on the original Cariboo Waggon Road.”

“The Lightning Hotel has aesthetic value for its road-house style design and ‘butt and pass’ log construction. The road-house style design is significant for being reminiscent of the Cariboo Waggon Road and gold rush era. It is also valued for being built with logs squared on three sides as it is the only known building in the area that was built with logs milled in this fashion.”

It is expected that the site will also be registered federally on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

The present owner continues the restoration process to this day.

“It may well open it up for some ability to apply for funding in the future to do some work on,” Massier said.

“It doesn’t restrict the owner of the building in any way as to what they want to do with the property. I think it just helps raise awareness of some of the important early buildings that are still standing in our communities and just gives the public a chance to learn about the history.”

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