Photo: Submitted By P. Lydon - Poster Created By Friend
A GREAT PUBLIC YOU TUBE ON LEECHTOWN - LET'S BUILD IT'S RATINGS
Lieutenant Peter Leech is buried in Ross Bay Cemetary in Victoria, and thank you to Patrick Lydon and the Victoria Cemetary Society for finding where he was buried, and many thanks to the Vancouver Island Placer Miners, (VIPMA) for erecting a marker for where he lay.
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THIS STORY WAS SUBMITTED BY RICHARD LONG
Peter John Leech
1828 - 1899
Peter John Leech was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1828 to Peter and Susan Leech.
Little is known of Leech's life before he enlisted in the Royal Engineers around 1855. After training on the Ordnance survey, he volunteered to join The British Columbia detachment under Colonel Richard Clement Moody. He arrived in Victoria on October 29, 1858 and for five years he served as "Astronomical observer and computer" in the survey office at New Westminster. He spent most of this period with the detachments Observatory, making only occasional surveys in the field.
When the detachment was recalled in November 1863, Leech, then holding the rank of 2nd corporal, took his discharge and remained in the colony. He worked on a contract basis for the British Columbia Lands and Works Department at New Westminster, and he also participated in several privately sponsored expeditions and exploratory surveys.
In 1864 Leech was econd in command and astronomer for Dr. Robert Brown with the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition (VIEE), which examined the resources of the southern part of the island; the following year he participated in the Big Bend exploring expedition to survey and map a route from Fort Kamloops to recently discovered gold deposits on the Columbia River.
In 1866 Leech was hired by the Western Union Telegraph Company for the line it was constructing to Europe through British Columbia, Alaska, and Asia. Fearing the transatlantic cable laid that July would fail as had its predecessor, the company saw the overland line completed from New Westminster to Kispiox (B.C.) by October. That winter Leech explored the desolate region between the Nass and Stikine rivers. However, the Transatlantic cable proved successful and the overland project was abandoned.
Leech probably returned to Victoria in June 1867. Later that year or early in 1868 he was hired by the Hudson's Bay Company to determine whether its Trading post near the mouth of the Stikine lay within British territory. The sale of Alaska to the United States by Russia had put an end to the Long-standing agreement whereby the HBC could establish stations on Russian soil. Leech found that the post lay some 20 miles downstream from the boundary and, as a result, it was moved in June 1868. He once again returned to Victoria and remained in the service of the HBC for some fourteen years, first as a postmaster and later as a clerk, rising to be in charge of the Esquimalt post. During this time he married Mary Macdonald (1873) and they had one daughter.
After it was closed down in the spring of 1883, Leech applied for the position of city surveyor in Victoria, an appointment he received on March 12, 1884. He became a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers and built a large house for his family overlooking Beacon Hill. Following his wife's death in 1892, he returned to private practice as a land surveyor. While in Bella Coola to survey a town site, he was appointed Justice of the Peace.
Leech's aptitude for mathematics did not diminish with advancing years. Shortly before his death in 1899 he published a set of simplified Astronomical tables. His reports and journals reflect the significant contribution he made to early exploration and mapping in British Columbia, but they unfortunately reveal little about his personality. He is probably best remembered for his participation in the Vancouver Island Exploring Expedition, which discovered paying quantities of gold in a tributary of the Sooke River. Both the river and the mining town, (Leechtown) which grew up on it, were subsequently named after him. Peter Leech died on June 6, 1899 at the age of seventy-one.
Sources:
Hayman, John. Ed. Robert Brown and the Vancouver Island Exploring
Exploration. University of British Columbia Press. Vancouver, B.C. 1989.
Hill, Beth. Sappers: The Royal Engineers in British Columbia. Horsdal &
Schubart. Ganges, B.C. 1987.
Leech, Peter. "The pioneer telegraph survey of British Columbia" British
Columbia Mining Record. Victoria and Vancouver, B.C. 1899.
Spittle, John D. "Peter Leech." Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol 12.
University of Toronto Press. Toronto, Ontario. 1990.
Whymper, Frederick. Travel and Adventure in the Territory of Alaska. John
Murray. London, England. 1868.
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PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A FIVE PAGE ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT ON LEECHTOWN SUBMITTED BY RICHARD LONG
A WONDERFUL HISTORICAL SURPRISE VISIT
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On May 26th 2010, Doyle Sheffield and I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Mrs. Betty Winters, a lady who lived for some 5 years at Leechtown. Betty moved to Leechtown with her husband when she was 17 years old, after her Husband Arthur had purchased the "Leechtown Stagecoach Company", and she lived on Old Wolf Creek Road, a short distance from the main camp at Leechtown. Betty was able to record many pleasant memories of raising her young Family in the district and she helped to run the Post Office for a short time. She talked about the school house with Grades One to Five and how the School House was the local entertainment centre during the week-ends. Her husband would drive workers to and from the Kapoor Lumber Mill and also ferry the older children to Belmont School. She talked of Mrs Razzo, her closest neighbor, and the Mother of Don Razzo, who would be a major benefactor to the VIPMA. Mrs Winters spent the years 1950 to 1955 in Leechtown, and she is able to recall floods on the Old Wolf Creek washing away trees following heavy rains and more alarmingly, she recalled a forest fire erupting near her home, and having to walk with her little son by the hand, and wheeling a stroller with her infant child, through the burning trees on either side of the road, to alert the men at the main Camp, regarding the fire. Despite such ordeals, Betty remembers her days at Leechtown with great affection and she has some lovely photographs of the area and the individuals who lived there. In 1955, Betty and her Husband moved to the Luxton area where her Husband bought the Happy Valley Freight Company and they operated this company until 1972. Betty has lived in her lovely home in Luxton for some 54 years, and she was a most gracious host to Doyle and I during our visit. Doyle and Vonna have been long term friends with Betty and were able to arrange the interview. Towards the end of our talk with Betty a few interesting personal items came to light. Doyle and I admired a beautiful imposing piano in the main room and without hesitation, Betty sat down and played that beautiful melody from sheet music called "Its a wonderful World",( made famous by the singing of Louis Armstrong). It was a beautiful rendition. On the piano were the photos of the three lovely children. Betty told us the story that her Father had bought this expensive piano on the day of her birth, and it was one of her dearest possessions. She played it every day and she hoped to never part with it. Her Father was a Master Stone Mason who had come from Italy to find work in the USA. However, he came to Victoria in 1900, and never left again. He was a stone cutter and mason in all the major projects at that time, and worked at the Empress Hotel. Dunsmuir Castle and one of his proudest works was the beautiful cut stone granite walls of Hatley Castle, now Royal Roads University. As one of the early Italians to Victoria, he was a founding member of the Italian Community and the Leonardo Da Vinci Community Centre. Betty was an only child and had a deep regard for her Father. His piano and her love for the beautiful instrument was very touching. When her Father Died, she had his body buried in Hatley Cemetery, lying on his side, and facing the beautiful stonework he had created years before. I hope that members of VIPMA will remember this story of love and affection when we pass the walls of Royal Roads in future. Thank you for your memories Betty! You will always be a part of Leechtown for us.
Patrick Lydon VIPMA. 27- 5- 2010.
Here are some photos of the Lady who lived in Leechtown with her Husband Arthur, who ran the Leechtown Stage! I forward three photos. One is of Betty Winters standing on the steps of her home built on the Old Wolf Creek! (Circa 1950) The other is her husband. He moved to Luxton in 1955 He passed away in 2001. The other important photo shows her two children David and Kathleen Age 3 and 2 as they are in (1953) standing in front of the Leechtown Stage vehicle (An International truck?). I hope these will be of interest to Members.
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PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A SERIES OF PHOTOS ON LEECHTOWN SUBMITTED BY RICHARD LONG
Leechtown and Vancouver Island's Only Gold Rush
In 1928, in memory of that once-thriving town, a tall cairn was placed at the junction of the Sooke River and the Leech Creek, where Leechtown once stood. It was dedicated by the then-lieutenant governor of British Columbia, Randolph Bruce, with an inscription that read, “Memorial erected by the B.C. Historical Association on site of gold commissioner’s house to commemorate discovery of gold on Sooke River by Lieut. P. Leech, July, 1864, and to mark the site of Leechtown, which sprang up following discovery.”
In June, 1864, the first expedition of the Vancouver Island Exploration Committee, headed by Dr. Robert Brown set out on the Island. Along with him were Frederick Whymper, Peter Leech, John Buttle, Ronald McDonald and John Foley. The entire group was guided by an unknown one-armed Iroquois Indian named Toma Antoine.
After crossing the Island and exploring the Cowichan Lake district, the group split into two. Brown led his party from the west end of Cowichan Lake, following the Nitinat River to the sea to rendezvous with Leech’s party at Port Renfrew.
From there, Leech led his party towards the mouth of the Sooke River and a few days later made that great discovery at the fork of the Sooke River and a Creek, which was later named Leech Creek.
With the typical training of good explorers, the men merely reported their findings and carried on with the expedition. However, they had left behind a stream of frenzy and excitement caused by their incredible discovery. A mini-goldrush had begun and, during the later part of 1864 and through 1865, it was said that upwards of $100,000 worth of gold was taken from the area.
Lieut. Peter Leech’s own words, written on July 14, 1864, indicate how great were the expectations for the area. Obviously, an enormous gold strike was anticipated with all its consequences.
Leech wrote, “A discovery which I have to communicate is the finding of gold on one of the forks of the Sooke River about 10 miles from the sea in a straight line…the lowest prospect obtained was three cents to the pan; the highest, $1…the whole value of the diggings cannot be easily oversestimated. The gold will speak for itself.”
Today, it is hard to imagine once there was a bustling town called Leechtown in the area of the Leech and Sooke Rivers with an equally busy towns, Boulder City, Thompsons Landing, Kennedy Flats and Sooke City. It was, in fact, once feared that Victoria’s population would sharply and dangerously decline if many more people headed out to the fast-growing communities on the Sooke River.
Statistics show that as many as 4,000 miners once worked more than 1,000 mining cliams in the area. A tent city at Leechtown grew up overnight. People back in Victoria anxiously awaited the latest news of the gold. When word arrived that a $70 nugget had been found, the rush was on. Within days, hordes of miners had arrived, the first crude buildings were being erected and even Gov. Kennedy visited the scene for himself what was going on.
Alas, the gold did indeed speak for itself. By 1865, only one short year after the discovery, the gold had reached its peak, passed it…and gone beyond. It seemed all the gold that was going to be taken out had been and the town was soon deserted by the miners, who drifted away to seek out other more promising prospects. The “rush” was over.
The Islander, Sunday, August 16, 1987 by Valerie Green
goldseekers - Ralph Hall SUBMITTED BY: CAROLINE ROWLIE (CLUB MEMBER)
Leechtown - Pages 160 - 161 - 162 (One man's tale)
On the way out, several of the mean had said they were going to Vancouver Island to work at a new placer mine which had just been prepared for operations. This was at a place called Leechtown, some thirty-six miles form the capital city of Victoria.
I decided to join them. The prospect of spending the winter away from the snow sounded very attractive. Staying only long enough in the Fort to change and pack some clothing, I caught a train to Vanderhoof the same night and was on my way.
We were greeted, as usual, by the inevitable rain on our arrival in Vancouver. Three of us booked rooms at the Alcazar Hotel, while several others caught the midnight ferry for Victoria.
The next morning was spent visiting the used car lots, because the two fellows with whom I was travelling had each decided on purchasing a used car. They finally made their choices froma car lot on Georgia Street. The salesman was so pleased at selling two cars at one time, that, in an exuberant moment, he invited the three of us to spend the coming Christmas at his home, should we happen to be in Vancouver at that time.
He probably thought he would never see us again, because he knew we had travelled many miles from home and were on our way to Vancouver Island. He was in for a surprise, if that is what he thought, because we did call on him when Christmas finally came along.
After a few days in Vancouver, Jim, the young man who was going on to Leechtown, decided we had better make a start towards the new job, because he had spent quite a sum of money buying a car, and having it repainted. He drove the car on the ferry, and we were on our way. We knew exactly where to go, because we had received previous instructions.
On arriving at Victoria, Vancouver Island, we travelled quite a few miles north on the Malahat Highway, then turned off to a narrow gravelled road, which quickly put us among some giant fir trees. It seemed almost semi-tropical. Moss hung from the lower limbs of the trees, and large ferns and brackens filled the spaces between the huge trunks. Beyond this belt of trees, we emerged once more into the open country, where large areas were logged off.
Getting near to our destination, we again entered a heavily timbered area, and it continued until camp was reached. As the trees closed around us, it seemed a rather gloomy, depressing place. Everything appeared moist and steamy. Certainly the last place one would expect to find a placer mine, yet here it was.
Almost all of the employees were former Germansen men, so we immediately felt at home. The mine manager Tony Pini was also an ex-monitor operator from Deganahl's mine at Germansen. The accomodations were not as good as those we had been accustomed to, but were adequate, providing the wood heaters in the cabins had fire in them. The firewood wa green and wet, so we made sure the fire did not get too low before more wood was added. The rain poured down almost every day.
The operation was on a much smaller scale than at Germansen. One eight-inch monitor operated in the pit, and one five-inch was used to stack tehh tailings as they came through the sluice boxes. Some of the bounders on bedrock were of tremendous size and had to be drilled and blasted. Others were removed from the pit and piled into heaps, by using a gas-driven donkey engine. For the most part, it was cold, wet, cheerless work, but it was a job with which I was very familiar.
One thing which bothered me was the total destruction of the giant trees over the area to be mined. We had to saw them into lengths, then bore holes into them so we could blow them to pieces with dynamite. The shattered logs were then piled into heaps by using the gas donkey. When the heaps could not be built any higher, they were set on fire. The dynamited stumps were likewise removed and disposed. What a tremendous waste of natual resources?
A short time before Christmas, I was send down to Victoria to meet the early morning ferry from Vancouver. A consulting engineer was due to visit the Leechtown operation. It was a surprise to find this person was none other than Mr. Hoace MacNaughton Fraser, the man who had hired me for the Germansen Placer mine, back in the fall of 1936. On our drive back to Leechtown, we discussed the Germansen operations, because he was interested in their development since he had left there to pen up his own consulting practice in Vancouver.
What Mr. Fraser thought of the Leechtown placer mine is not known to me, but all of us working there knew it was bound to fail. There simply was not enough gold in the gravel bench to make it pay. An additional disadvantage was the smooth, argillaceious bedrock, without natural crevices to trap gold. The mining layout was good, as were teh flumes, machinery, and hydro elelectric equipment, but without the all-important return of gold for the yardage of gravel processed, the rest counted for little. I saw the first clean-up and estimated not more than thirty-five ounces was recovered.
Several of us spent the Christmas and New Year holidays in Vancouver. Not long after our return to Leechtown in 1941, Jim suffered an attack of appendicitis. He was in critical condition in a Victoria hospital for a lengthy period, because the appendix ruptured before he could undergo the required surgery.
The mine was still operating, but no money was forthcoming to meet the payroll. I determined that as soon as Jim was able to travel we would return home. He was discharged from hospital near the end of February. I immediately quit the Leechtown operations and drove his car to Victoria, where we booked a room at a cheap hotel on Yates Street We stayed there a couple of weeks, Jim was in no condition on his discharge to make the long trip by car to his home in Vanderhoof. In the meantime I obtained the back pay due to us from the mining company.
Thank you Carolyn for submitting this story.
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Photos Of Leechtown Available through the Museum to the Public
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Below is the Original Leechtown Cairn - After this photo was taken the Cairn was destroyed by vandals. A group of concerned businessmen later erected a replica cairn in the same location. Over time the Cairn has experienced much damage, has been removed to the other side of the road, moved back and is a concern to VIPMA, as VIPMA is proud of Leechtown, it's history and will continue to do it's best to keep Leechtown alive.
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Sooke Museum Photos
The Above Is a Photo of the Cairn Sooke Museum
GOLD COMMISSIONER'S HOUSE
Trespass Photo of Active Placer Mining Operation
LEECHTOWN AND THE MEDICAL PROFESSION
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Hi Donna and I hope all is well with you. I am delighted to report that Part 1 of the two part series "Leechttown and the Medical Profession", has just been published in the Victoria Medical Society Summer Newsletter, and I hope to bring a copy for your records at the next meeting. It also has a photo of Dr Joyce Clearhue (a highly respected Medical historian) standing at the grave of Lt.Leech, and this gives a great dignity to the story. I hope to attach the text for part 1 and will send part 11 later. I hope you like the piece. Thanks, Pat.
On the 14th of July 1864, the most important discovery of the Vancouver Island Exploratory Expedition was made on the Sooke River, some ten miles from the sea. On that day, Lt Peter Leech, second in Command of the Expedition, together with some eight members of the party, found Gold nuggets and flakes on the banks of a tributary river that was subsequently named the Leech River. The amount of gold was phenomenal and Lt. Leech had difficulty getting the men to continue with their survey. Shortly after the discovery, Lt Leech sent a message, together with a small parcel of the gold, to the Lt Governor, Sir Arthur Kennedy, who had helped finance the expedition. Lt Leech estimated that the gold reserves were enough to employ four thousand men and that the panning would yield up to one dollar per pan (this would be up to 40 Dollars per pan in 2009 terms.) The message gave details of the Leech river and the surrounding district and it contained the immortal words –“The gold will speak for itself”! Within a short time the gold rush was on, and miners flocked to the area. Within the first year, 100 thousand dollars worth of Gold was recorded, and today, this would be equivalent to four Million dollars! All this mining was on placer claims and without the use of heavy machinery. The Government surveyed the area and laid plans for the new town called Leechtown, and these plans are available at the Provincial Archives. Although most of the buildings were simple and primitive, a number of two story structures were built as well. The Arrarat Hotel was a fine building with accommodation for both ladies and gentlemen, and when Governor Kennedy visited the miners in 1865 he stayed in this hotel. Dr Robert Brown, the leader of the expedition, who was absent from the area at the time of the discovery, records staying in a very well appointed two story hotel and enjoying the most cordial welcome the following year. It is estimated that some three thousand miners were involved in panning the Leech river and at one point there was a fear that the population of Victoria would gravitate to Leechtown. However, after a few years the easy gold was removed and the mining became less lucrative and gradually the mining declined. Leechtown became more involved in the lumber industry and at one point there was a talc factory, based on the ample soapstone in the area. The galloping goose train stopped at Leechtown up until the 1930’s and after that time it gradually became isolated. It can be reached by the roadway from Sooke known as Butler Main and then Boneyard Road, (Timber West property) and the last man to live at Sooke died in 1998.
Lt Peter Leech was born in Dublin, ireland in 1826. He joined the British Army as a young man and was assigned to the Royal Engineer Regiment. His regiment was sent to the Crimea where he was made an NCO. He was trained as a surveyor and “computer” and appeared to have a great aptitude for this science. At the end of the hostilities with the Russians, the Regiment was transferred to Fort Langley, near New Westminster. (New Caledonia). In 1863, the Regiment was disbanded, and members who choose to stay in Canada were awarded 100
acres of prime Government land as an inducement. It appears that Peter Leech was given an honorary title of “Lieutenant” at that time, as he is consistently referred to as having that rank in all further correspondence. The following year, Lt Leech was appointed second in command of the long awaited Vancouver Island Exploratory Expedition (VIEE), with Dr Robert Brown, a botanist from Edinburgh, in charge. The discovery of gold on the Leech River was the highlight of the VIEE. Lt. Leech was later involved in many adventures such as trying to lay a telegraph cable through B.C., the Yukon and across the Bering Straits and down through Russia to connect with Europe. However, the eventual success of the trans-Atlantic cable led to failure of the venture. He acted as magistrate at Bella Bella and was a manager of the Esquimalt Hudson Bay Store. He successfully applied for the post of Victoria City Surveyor and he held this position until his retirement. Lt Leech was married to Ms Mary McDonald, the organist at the Church of our Lord in Victoria. Mary had arrived in Victoria with her Mother and three younger sisters, on board the Brideship “Tynemouth”, following the early death of her Father in England. The marriage was a great success, and their child Fanny was an accomplished musical artist. Lt Leech died in 1899 and is buried in Ross Bay Cemetery. He is less than 100 yards from the grave of Billy Barker of “Barkerville” fame, and I sometimes like to think that their spirits meet in the cold dark hours of the early mornings, as they both reminisce about their discovery of the gold! A small stone marker from the Vancouver Island Placer Miners Association (VIPMA) helps to identify the well-worn stone with the simple word “Leech” on it.
Below a short story submitted by Patrick Lydon and his and Denis Lieutard's stroll this past November.
On Wednesday, November the 10th 2010, the day before Rememberence Day, Denis Lieutard and I drove to the Sooke Potholes Regional Park, in an effort to ride our bikes to Leechtown on the galloping Goose trail. We parked our cars near the Barnes Railway station and began our bike ride from there. It was a lovely Fall day, overcast but no rain, and the bike journey was interesting because of all the fascinating discoveries along the way. There were banks of pillow lava on either side of the trail, and at one point we came across two massive sandstone conical rollers used in the making of pulp fibre. In approximatly an hour we reached the entrance to Leechtown and saw the beautiful signpost erected by the CRD, which marks the position of the old Leechtown railway station. We left our bikes at this spot and we then walked West towords the Sooke River. We walked North along the bank of the river to a point just South of the Old Wolfe Creek. The river levels were low despite this being mid November and we made a successful attempt to forge the Sooke River at this point. I had only rubber boots but Denis had hiking boots, but despite these problems we were able to cross the river at its narrowest place without getting wet! We were able to walk to Bruce Chaytor's claim and then walk to the old (1928 - 1972) Cairn in old Leechtown and review its sad condition. We looked for signs of the two apple trees that were planted by the Lt. Governors daughters in 1928, but none were to be found. We walked on to the North end of the road in Leechtown and examined the large "grizzly", or ore sorting mechanism, which is now partly collapsed. Some iron railtracks or beams could be useful at some point. We also saw the remains of a substancial bridge just south of the grizzly and the remains of the other end of the bridge could be seen on the far side. I was told that a metal plate, possibly tin, was attached to this bridge one time. We now moved south to the fording area and once again crossed the Sooke River to the Galloping Goose side. I did so quite easily with my rubber boots but Denis displayed the agility of the loggers log-rolling ability, by once again crossing the river by jumping from one log to another. After a short break for a sandwich, we explored the new bridge over the Old Wolfe Creek and made our way South along the Goose trail. We saw the rembrants of the Kapour Lumber Mills to the East of the trail and there were many pieces of large machinery hidden in the undergrowth including diesel donkeys and abandoned steel railway carriages. It would be a metal detectors paradise. We wondered if there were any aerial photos from the War years to clarify what Leechtown Railway station looked like at that time. Dusk was begining to appear so we reluctantly mounted our bikes and headed south along the Trail. It was a wonderful day and I now have a much clearer understanding of the layout of Leechtown. Denis and I are both members of the planning committee for the new stone Cairn we hope to build before the 150th Anniversary of the discovery of Gold by Lt, Leech and his party on the 14th July 1864. Denis has agreed to be the spokesman on this venture and will present a proposal to VIPMA and the CRD shortly. Thanks for a great day at Leechtown Denis and best wishes with your proposal. Patrick Lydon.
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(VIPMA)Vancouver Island Placer Miners
537 Glencairn Lane Victoria, BC
Meetings 2nd Wed Monthly 7:30PM BLOG vipma@live.ca
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