Built to serve the gold miners and homesteaders who either arrived in or were passing through the Rock Creek area in the 1890s, the Rock Creek Hotel had operated continuously until September 23, 2015, when it was
forcibly shut down for nonpayment of back taxes. The hotel was put up for sale at $200,000, but finally sold at auction to a West Kelowna couple for $151,300 in March of 2016. The couple were able to
reopen the hotel on or around June 1 of that year. It remains in operation today.
The majority of the hotel appears much as it did when first opened, with 11 small rooms on the upper floor and men's and ladies' shared bathrooms. Much of the lower floor is taken up by the kitchen and the
Prospector Pub. The pub is now operated as a restaurant and pub, with an outdoor terrace for dining alfresco. The entire hotel is clean and well kept, while the terrace offers a profusion of gorgeous flowers through the summer.
Rooms rent for $40 to $45 per night. The hotel operates in a somewhat laid back manner; should one need a room and arrive late at night, they may just find an empty room, sleep through the night, then check in at the pub in the morning. The
Prospector Pub serves double duty as pub and check in desk.
Rock Creek Hotel
Reprinted from the Kettle River Echo, July 10, 1995
The rugged building just north of the junction of Highways #3 and #33 has changed only slightly in appearance over time, a few more refinements and additions, but the basic structure has endured for 100 years. Harry Pittendrigh (or Pittendreigh, as variously reported in Boundary Historical Society documents) owned and operated the Rock Creek Hotel, which he had had built by Albert Madge, a local carpenter. He lived with his family on the premises. He also was the donor of the property for the first school in Rock Creek, located then on the hill across the present highway #33 from the hotel.
At the hotel, the family quarters occupied the west end of the structure, and the kitchen, dining room and sitting room overlooked the river. The east end of the porch surrounded building contained the bar, while the sleeping rooms were upstairs. Costs in 1895 for lodging were 50¢ to $1 a night, with monthly room and board costing $30. A waitress earned $20 a month, with room and board thrown in.
Some have said this structure is the oldest continuously functioning hotel in the province, and its birthday bash should be one to note. The Rock Creek Hotel. The pub became known as the Prospector Pub in May 1935 following renovations.
1858 Rock Creek Gold Rush
Gold was discovered in Rock Creek in 1858 soon after miners rushed in from the United States and the rest of the world. The Rock Creek rush was also instrumental in the development of British Columbia. The discovery was made by two American soldiers who were chased North of the border by a band of Indians. Just 5 km. from the border where an unnamed creek entered the Kettle River they found gold.
At the time of the discovery the colony of British Columbia was only a year old. American miners tried to claim the area as part of the United States due to the high grades and the fact that it was discovered by Americans. The Rock Creek claim issues prompted the construction of the Dewdney Trail as a means to separate the new colony from the United States. The Dewdney Trail snaked its way from New Westminster all the way to Wild Horse in the Kootenay region staying just North of the Canada-US border.
Soon after the discovery an estimated 5,000 prospectors migrated to the newly established town of Rock Creek. In the beginning there were two saloons, a butcher’s shop, a hotel and five stores. Within the first year a revolt broke out due to tensions between Chinese and American miners and refusal to pay for mining licenses. The incident became known as the Rock Creek War. The governor of British Columbia, Sir James Douglas, traveled there from Victoria to straighten out the miners. He threatened to send in 500 British soldiers if they couldn’t behave themselves. Sir Douglas was successful and soon the miners paid their claim fees and mined the creeks in peace.
There were some amazing claims on Rock Creek. Adam Beame’s claim on Soldier’s Bar in 1859 allegedly netted $1,000 in six weeks. That gold would be worth $70,500 today! Other bars such as Denver Bar and White’s Bar produced similar results.
From West Coast Placer