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 Vermilion Forks - Princeton, BC Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 49° 27.705 W 120° 28.184
10U E 683344 N 5481865
This marker was placed at a small pullout along Highway 3, along with the "Welcome to Princeton" sign one and a half km. east of the Princeton Visitor centre.
Waymark Code: WMMA8E
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 08/20/2014
Views: 3
Vermilion Forks is the name given to the Tulameen and Similkameen Rivers by gold miners who made rich finds in the area as early as 1858. This is one of the few areas in which the gold was accompanied by substantial amounts of platinum. Not recognizing its worth, many miners considered it a nuisance and casually tossed it on the tailings pile.
It was at this same time that the town of Princeton sprang up, and has grown and prospered ever since.
Vermilion Forks
The forks of the Similkameen and Tulameen Rivers have a long and illustrious past. For centuries red ochre was mined from surrounding hills by Okanagan and Nicola First Nations. The ochre was traded and used in paint for ceremony, ornamentation, and pictographs. In 1858, placer miners finding quantities of gold and platinum called the area "Vermilion Forks". Later huge deposits of copper and coal were discovered and more prospectors streamed in over the famous Dewdney Trail. When the Royal Engineers surveyed the townsite in 1860, they renamed It "Princeton., in honour of the Prince of Wales, and this historic town has retained that name ever since.
transcribed from sign
Type of Marker: Cultural
Type of Sign: British Columbia Tourism Sign
Describe the parking that is available nearby: Small roadside pullout
What Agency placed the marker?: BC Department of Tourism and Culture
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