GRANITE CITY 
& the Granite Creek 
Gold Rush of 1885
Granite City Ghost Town Is
 1.5 Kilometers south east of Coalmont.
 photo Granite1909_zpsaafaa62a.jpg
GRANITE CITY

Many years ago while my wife and I were exploring back roads and older areas of British Columbia we came to a field with a few ruins around the site. There was an energy that permeated the area and a very big old concrete monolith that was missing what could only have been a plaque.
It soon came to us that this was the site of some old town.
I started camping up around Granite Creek and found the old town site to be very interesting. Why were there so many holes all over? I would later find out that people were digging for a pail of platinum nuggets "treasure Hunting".
Treasure had also been found under wall paper in the old last standing cabin, in the form of old bank notes. So I started to read any and everything I could find on the place.
In it's Hay Day it was Granite City!
In a book I read a government agent while across the valley from the city said that "the whole area resembled an ant hill".
Well then I was in hook line and sinker. I just had to give something back to this forgotten place for all the pleasure it had brought to my wife, my friends and myself.
The plaque would be replaced!
I could not find out what it had said originally, at that time, so more research was in order. Once I started looking, it seemed that about anything I read of BC history around 1885 mentioned something about Granite City or Granite Creek. The weekend My brother & I went up to measure the area for the plaque. I was walking back to the Campsite and not far from the F. P. General store I noticed something shinning and it turned out to be an early Canadian 1900, silver 5 cent piece!

I hired a Gentleman that maid headstones to make a new plaque. The quote to have it made was a bit much for just my wallet so I wrote a small report on the town and why it was important to replace it's identifying feature.
This I gave it to Friends, Family, Co workers, and other history buffs with a request for a ten dollar donation. These people are who I called the "Friends of Granite City" (you'll see that on the plaque) It's nice to see how many people visit the town site and now can appreciate a bit of it's History.

Looking at the old town site today it's hard to believe it was the third largest town in BC by population in it's hay day in 1886. It was mostly destroyed in a fire at the outbreak of WW1.
Miss Chicken ran a house of ill repute in the 30's. As late as the 1950's the town was home to three men all named Bill in different cabins.
The standing cabin on the town site dates from the 1930's as a close inspection shows it to be made of Kettle Valley Railway ties. At night walk around the site, it's easy to go back to an earlier time.
The river still sounds the same, the moon still shines as bright, a cool breeze still comes down the valley, and if you listen just a bit more, you can hear a piano and the sound of men in high spirits.
If you go please enjoy and respect this Gold Rush Town. Give back by picking up some garbage left by others.

The Friends of Granite City with the monument replaced,
Are no more.

Thanks for viewing...

There is a BC forest service Campground just a short walk from the ghost town. The campground has the remains of an old Gold Dredge to explore.
The lost Platinum Cache of Granite City. 
By S. W. Nicholson 
Click Here
Mr. Nicholson did a great job on this story.
Granite City Then
 photo 75d03d5c-fcdc-4db5-b789-aef487be22e3_zpsb76a46d3.jpg  photo ba6db11f-f9a8-4327-966c-2317038e1185_zps109f7dc7.jpg It was 1996 when I put together a small group to replace the plaque. The plaque had been missing for 25 years. At the time we could not find what the original said but since that time we have come across a picture of the original plaque shown below.
We as the friends of Granite City felt that although the town was never an official city with a mayor, schools and Church. It was the 3rd. largest populated place in British Columbia. Five well respected History authors referred to this place as Granite City, we friends thought it best to give visitors a more complete picture by calling this Historic place, Granite City
 photo 6ea3737a-2997-489d-95ec-cfe90edd5435_zpscad3d897.jpg  photo 21AWebPlaque1962_zps0b04d93c.jpg
Would you like to be part of an other British Columbia 
History preserving project?
Click  Here...
Foxcrowle's Grave has faired far better than his Granite City General Store.
Thanks to the BeanTeam 
for sharing Granite City/Creek
& waymarking...
For your GPS;
Granite Creek Town site at
49*30'16.53 N
120*40'49.73W

Coalmont BC is on GoogleEarth.com
Lots to see in the not
so ghost Town of COALMONT.
Check it out, Coalmont is on
the way to Granite CITY !
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