Country sensibility and a desire for something different has helped transform Wells, BC into a colourful cottage community.

Tucked off the beaten track an hour’s winding drive east of Quesnel, the historic dwellings of Wells are often little more than a Technicolor blur through the car windows of tourists bound for historic Barkerville or Bowron Lakes Provincial Park. Established in a flurry of building activity by the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine in 1934, Wells’ population peaked in 1947 at just over 4,500 residents. When the last mine closed in 1967, the town began a slow decline. What has been left in the wake of Wells’ initial boom and prolonged bust is a pocket of historic old homes, many abandoned for decades. Others have been scooped up for a song and turned into quaint and colourful cottages by recreational lifestyle seekers and artists — all attracted to the community for its inspiring landscapes and low cost of living. www.wellsbc.com

Written by Amanda Follett.