06/03/2026
Minto City, the former historic gold rush town in the Upper Bridge River Valley, is located on our Reliance Gold Property in the area of our 'Golden Girl' Crown Grant. Minto City or Minto Landing was founded and developed in the 1930s by Warren A Davidson, a famous local prospector associated with the former Minto Gold mine located on our Omega Crown Grants east of the town site on the north side of the Bridge River Valley.
“Big Bill” Davidson and his Big White horse was a key figure in British Columbia’s Upper Bridge River Valley “hard rock” gold boom in the 1930s. He was the president and developer of Minto Gold Mines. In 1934, he also founded Minto City as a model company town, even importing topsoil to build a rodeo ground and baseball diamond on rocky ground. His vision reflected the era’s mix of mining ambition, frontier optimism, and lifestyle promotion. Minto is all gone now having been dismantled and some houses moved to nearby Gold Bridge when the Upper Bridge River Valley was flooded with the building of the Terzaghi Dam in the 1950’s. Minto stands as a fascinating reminder of how mining shaped communities, culture, and the landscape in British Columbia.