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Gustavus Blin-Wright


Gustavus Blin Wright was a pioneer roadbuilder and entrepreneur in British Columbia, Canada. His biggest achievement was building the Old Cariboo Road to the Cariboo gold fields, from Lillooet to Fort Alexandria, but he was also a partner in a freighting firm that operated on the Douglas Road, he ran a toll bridge at Bridge River, near Lillooet, and built part of the road from Quesnel to Barkerville. He was also the original owner of the town of 70 Mile House.

Gustavus Blinn Wright was born in Burlington, Vermont, United States in 1832. He arrived in British Columbia on February 28, 1862 aboard the steamer Brother Jonathan and began a partnership that operated vessels on the route between San Francisco and New Westminster.

On August 16, 1862, Wright won the contract to build the 47 mile (76 km) long section of the Old Cariboo Road from Lillooet to Cut-Off Valley, which connects from the Fraser River at Pavlion, over Pavilion Mountain via Kelly Lake to Clinton, British Columbia, as "47 Mile House" would become known.He was also given the option to complete the rest of the 151 miles (243 km) of construction to Alexandria, which he also undertook. By the end of the 1862 season, his crews had completed the road as far as the 127 Mile post. He built a camp for his workers for the winter of at 70 Mile House and then purchased the property outright the following spring.


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