The Cariboo was Secwepemc territory until the gold rush swept the country in 1859. Two pack trails to the gold fields met at what is now Williams Lake, making it a convenient stop for miners and merchants.
By 1860 there were enough people in the area for Gold Commissioner Philip Henry Nind and Constable William Pinchbeck to come and organize a local government to maintain law and order. The tiny town was named to honour Secwepemc Chief William.
Between 1861-1863, Pinchbeck, with partners Thomas Meldrum and William Lyne, formed Pinchbeck and Company and built a town that boasted a roadhouse, general store, sawmill, flour mill, distillery and a horse racing track.
Although the Cariboo Road bypassed Williams Lake in 1863, Pinchbeck prospered and his distillery became world famous for its "White Wheat Whisky.”
The gold rush was short lived, and ranching became the Cariboo’ s main industry. Most settlers were holdovers from the mining including the men who stayed after making successful cattle drives to the area to feed the miners.
The railway came to Williams Lake 1919, and the first Stampede was held that year. It was a small affair but it caught on. Many Cariboo/ Chilcotin communities had stampedes, and their contestants enjoyed competing in the Williams Lake event.
Williams Lake became known as a Cowtown, and as it grew, western stores sprouted on almost every street, people “dressed western” -- not only cowboys and ranchers, professionals and businessmen wore cowboy hats and cowboy boots.
In the 1960s the lumber industry arrived with large mills in the city and small mills everywhere. Williams Lake prospered. Ranching took a back seat, but nothing stopped the stampede.
Coming on to a hundred years old, it’s professional and famous.
Williams Lake was once famous for Pinchbeck’s whisky. Now it’s famous for The Stampede.
