Cottonwood House Historic Park established as a Provincial Park per Order in Council 1654, 27 June 1963, containing 21 acres more or less; incorrectly identified in geographical names records as "Cottonwood House Park" 10 February 1966 on 93G. Area expanded per OIC #3757, 22 November 1974, the whole now containing 26.4 acres more or less. Form of name corrected in geographical names records to "Cottonwood House Historic Park (Provincial Historic Park)" 29 November 1984. Park status cancelled per Bill 86, Park Amendment Act 1999, Schedule A, effective 28 June 1999; the name remains the same but property will be managed as a Provincial Heritage Property under the provisions of the Heritage Conservation Act, per OIC 758, 2 July 1999.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

"Constructed on the Cariboo Wagon Road between 1864 and 1865, Cottonwood House served up hearty meals and provided accommodation to travellers....." (January 1999, BC Heritage website: www.heritage.gov.bc.ca)

Source: included with note

Borden number: FgRm-1. A Borden number is a unique identifier code that is assigned to an archaeological or historic site on the basis of its location.

Source: BC Heritage Branch files

Designated Site; OIC 758; 02 July 1999.

Source: BC Heritage Branch files

Cottonwood House Historic Park, located 28 kilometres east of Quesnel, BC, comprises 10.68 hectares of agricultural land in a pastoral environment adjacent to the Cottonwood River. This historic place includes ten historic structures, including wooden domestic and farm buildings, and a portion of the original Cariboo Wagon Road.

Source: BC Heritage Branch files

Cottonwood House Historic Park is valued as an excellent example of the legacy of commercial enterprise and settlement associated with travel and transportation along the Cariboo Wagon Road. The value of this place lies in its situation on the historic route of the Wagon Road, and in its various historic functions as roadhouse, ranch, farm, telegraph station, post office, and social and commercial hub of the area. It also holds significant heritage value in its association with the Boyd family, who owned the property and conducted business here between 1874 and 1951.

The roadhouse, general store, various farm structures, and their pastoral surroundings are integral to the heritage value of this place, as they provide a tangible example of the early non-native settlement and commerce which were driven by the nineteenth century quest for gold in the Cariboo region of British Columbia. It is also noteworthy that Cottonwood House has survived as one of the few remaining examples of a Cariboo roadhouse which flourished after the peak of gold-rush activity.

Source: BC Heritage Branch files

The character-defining elements of Cottonwood House Historic Park include:
- the situation of the historic place within a pastoral environment
- the large cottonwood tree in front of the roadhouse
- the portion of the original 1863 Cariboo Wagon Road which runs through the property
- the cluster of original pre-1951 log buildings which comprises the core area of the historic place
- the identifying features of the buildings such as scale, colour, detail, patina, fittings, locations and spacing, attributatable to their time of construction
- the construction methods evident in the forms and materials of the historic wooden structures
- evidence of historic farming and ranching activities as seen in such buildings as the double barn, horse barn, and root cellar
- evidence of historic commercial activities as seen in such buildings and structures as the roadhouse, general store, and telegraph poles and wires

Source: BC Heritage Branch files

To learn more about Cottonwood House Historic Park, visit the Canadian Register of Historic Places website: www.historicplaces.ca.

Source: BC Heritage Branch files