The northern BC area was first settled in the 1860s thanks in part to the determination of California's Perry McDonough who wanted to extend an overland telegraph cable between Europe and America. Several attempts to place an underwater telegraph line across the Atlantic had failed and so the go-ahead was given for an overland route from San Francisco through B.C. to the Bering Sea. Then it was a skip to Russia and onto Europe.

By 1866 the line had reached Fraser Lake. It was then decided to head west through what is now Houston as reports came in of a valley with good grazing lands and plenty of fresh water for the pack horses. But in July 1866, the Trans-Atlantic underwater cable had been completed and the northern overland project was abandoned.

Then came the Klondike gold rush in 1898 and a line was once again wanted, this time to connect Quesnel with Atlin and the Yukon. In charge of the project was a man named J.B. Charleson and the man operating a pack train for him was a very young Charles Barrett.