Gang Ranch, British Columbia
| Gang Ranch | |
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 Gang Ranch
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| Coordinates: 51°33′00″N 122°20′00″W / 51.55000°N 122.33333°WCoordinates: 51°33′00″N 122°20′00″W / 51.55000°N 122.33333°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
The Gang Ranch is a Canadian ranch in the Chilcotin region of the Central Interior of British Columbia. It is located 28 miles (45 km) north of Clinton on the west bank of the Fraser River opposite the Indian Reserve community of Dog Creek. The ranch, near Alkali Lake, was founded in 1863. For many years the largest ranch in North America, it is now the second-largest in Canada, after the Douglas Lake Ranch. The Churn Creek Protected Area is also nearby.
Two American brothers, Thaddeus and Jerome Harper, traveled from Harpers Ferry, Virginia, via California, to British Columbia in the Cariboo Gold Rush. They mined in Yale, and lived in Victoria for a time. At one point, they were accused of supporting the rebel Confederacy and plotting against the nearby North. One account suggests that they were asked to leave the border area of British Columbia. Some miners worked their way up the Fraser River seeking gold and found the remote plateau. Unsuccessful in their search for gold, the Harpers settled on the west bank of the Fraser River in 1863 and installed a gang plow. Thus the Gang Ranch began its long operation.
The Harpers made an agreement with the Chilcotin Indian Kalalest whereby the land at the confluence of the Chilcotin and Fraser rivers was divided between the First Nations and the Harpers. The Harpers began to drive cattle from Washington or Oregon, hundreds of miles on the hoof, northwards to feed the hungry gold miners. One drive was made from Utah. The brothers bought and sold stock and land, moving frequently at first. The town of Horsefly was first called "Harper's Camp" and included a steam sawmill. From their gains with the cattle drives, the brothers expanded the Gang Ranch.
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