The Spokesman Review, Spokane, Washington, December 2 and 3, 1922.

ISAAC OPPENHEIMER, PIONEER

Isaac Oppenheimer, one of the founders of Vancouver, B. C. died here last night. He came here 10 years ago and has been residing with his daughter, Mrs. Meyer Seidenbach, at the Avendian apartments.

Mr. Oppenheimer had served as alderman at Vancouver and his brother, David Oppenheimer, was mayor there. They had a string of stores in the vicinity of Yale, B. C. in pioneer days and often passed through this region.

The brothers founded the city of Vancouver and Mr. Oppenheimer owned much of the property on which the city was built. His firm as wholesale grocers furnished the provisions for the builders on the Pacific division of the C. P. R.

Mr. Oppenheimer was 87 years old and a British subject. His wife died 10 years ago when they were touring Europe. The children are Mrs. Seidenbach of this city, Dr. Oppenheimer, Montie Oppenheimer of Moosejaw, Sask., and Jesse Oppenheimer of Winnipeg. One daughter resides in Hamburg, Germany. The late M. Oppenheimer of Spokane was a nephew.

Mr. Oppenheimer was much respected for his charity. He was a member of the Masonic order in Canada.

"Isaac Openheimer was the pioneer good-roads builder of the Pacific coast" said "Uncle Dan" Drumheller in discussing the career of his old friend, who died Friday.

"There were four Openheimer brothers, a most remarkable family. The oldest was Godfrey, father of the late Mose Oppenheimer of Spokane. The others included David, Charles and Isaac, the youngest. If not 49ers, certainly they were among the earliest comers to California in the gold days, and they followed every variety of business activity, with marked success.

"After the California boom died down there was a rush to the Fraser river in British Columbia, along about 1858, and millions were taken out of the bars along that stream. The province was then a British colony, which had no connection with the Upper and Lower Canada of the Atlantic coast. The officials were Englishmen, but the miners were almost altogether Americans. They prospected into the mountains and in 1861 they opened the Cariboo district, 300 miles north of navigation on the Fraser river. Lightning creek, Keithley creek, Williams creek and Horsefly creek were among the richest placer camps ever found in America.

Wagon Road Was Marvel
"The provincial government opened the country with a wagon road that was the marvel of western America. It started on the Fraser river at the mouth of the Thompson river at Lytton. Another fork started from the Fraser at Lillooet. Both stems joined and went on up to the Quesnelle river. The contract for building it was let to a group headed by the late C. B. Wright of Nelson, B. C. The contractors included the Oppenheimer brothers, who were then engaged in trading, with stores at Yale and other mining camps.

"The road they built must have cost more than a million dollars. When completed it was almost as smooth as pavement. Where rock was struck it was blasted away regardless of expense. While Lieutenant Mullan with his Mullan road built the first long overland road in Western America in the late 50's and early 60's, it was just a trail compared with the Cariboo road that Ike Oppenheimer and his brothers constructed into the Cariboo gold fields.

Went to Cariboo in 61
"I went into Cariboo in the spring of 61 from Walla Walla with a bunch of 250 cattle. I wintered in British Columbia and got well acquainted with Ike Oppenheimer. We kept in touch with each other of late and half a dozen years ago we could trace six or seven survivors of the Cariboo rush. They included John Hauser, better known as "Honest John," the father of Max Hauser: Jim Kennedy, who was later engaged in ranching on Crab creek, near Washtucna--one of the best men I ever knew; George Hendricks, an old timer miner, and us two. Now that Ike Oppenheimer is gone, so far as I know I am the only man still living who went into the Cariboo country in the first rush, while Herbert Johnson and I are the only two men still alive among the men who reached Walla Walla in 1861.

"Mr. Oppenheimer had a wide variety of financial interests. He was a large stockholder at one time in the Canadian Pacific railway and in the Bank of British North America. Personally he was a fine old gentleman, of honorabel character and kindly disposition."