In 1955-56, Bill Coulthard rode his horse down from the ranch to work in my sawmill at the mouth of Mackin Creek. Little did I know that meeting Bill would lead to an interesting family history decades later.

Bill’s dad, Walter, was born April 6, 1876 in Minnesota, the county of Scott. He matured in North Dakota, then worked his way west where he discovered the Chilcotin and his wandering ended.

After gaining experience on local ranches, he pre-empted 160 acres (64.78 ha) west of Soda Creek in 1912. Taxes were $7.95 per year.

Soda Creek around the early 1900s had a water-powered flour mill and a sawmill, owned by Mr. Crowston.Walter married Susie Crowston and they lived in what became the jail, where son Jim was born in 1939 (that building, barred window and all, still stands.)

On the preemption, a log ranch house was built and over the years, additional land taken up eventually totaling 700-plus acres. (291 ha.)

The family rounded out at three sons and a daughter. Jim and Grace (Nore) Coulthard, showed me original documents, darkened by age, to prove first their dad’s birth date and second to prove Walter bought a saddle horse, Sweetheart, for $75 in 1922 with a very legally-phrased bill of sale, in Kamloops, witnessed and approved by Joseph Giuchon of Quilchena (Nicola Valley) who was a Justice of the Peace then.

Since horse stealing was a major crime, the paper was a lifesaver.

To generate money, Walter wintered a large string of Barkerville pack horses owned by Mr. Thompson, for several years.

Daughter Grace remembers leaving the gold town at 0 degrees F (-16 C) to drive the herd home for wintering, with Milo Emily (Called Long Shorty).

Walter died in 1941 and Susie ran the place until she sold to sons Jim and Bill. Son Val followed other interests.

A story I was told was the duplicate certificate of title could not be found to transfer the land and a new one was issued after a lengthy process.

When a new house was built, in tearing down the original, a niche was found with a duplicate and other papers. Jim still has that box with its original documents.

Coulthard Road, above one of the Soda Creek ferry sites, leads to the property. Bill Coulthard later worked for Ducks Unlimited, then married Fay Knoll of Chesacut, where he wound up as foreman of Ollie Knoll’s ranch until it was recently sold.

The Chesacut meadows are a huge natural pasture of hundreds of hectares.

Andy Motherwell is an amateur historian and regular Observer columnist.