McDame Creek is a creek located in the Cassiar Land District of British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

. The creek flows southeast into Dease River

Dease River

The Dease River flows through northwestern British Columbia, Canada and is a tributary of the Liard River. The river descends from Dease Lake, though its ultimate origin is in the headwater of Little Dease Creek at Snow Peak, approximately 50 km to the west of the lake...

 and is south of Good Hope Lake. The creek was discovered in 1874 by a prospector named Henry McDame. McDame Creek was mined for gold in the 1800s. A camp called Centreville contained cabins and stores and served as a trading centre for miners working on McDame Creek in the 1800s. In 1877 a 72 ounce solid gold nugget

Gold nugget

A gold nugget is a naturally occurring piece of native gold. Watercourses often concentrate and grow the nuggets. Nuggets are recovered by placer mining, but they are also found in residual deposits where the gold-bearing veins or lodes are weathered...

valued at $1,300 was found in McDame Creek. The solid gold nugget was found by a prospector named Al Freeman, it was the largest found in the province. This nugget was found roughly where 1st N. Fork Creek flows into McDame Creek.

The Christie Lead

A gold miner named Christie discovered a lead of gold near McDame Creek in 1876. This gold lead became known as the "Christie Lead". The lead was a run of gold that was 30 metres wide and continuous for almost a 1.5 kilometers. The lead returned $2,000.00 to $6,000.00 weekly. It was located between Snow Creek and 4th North Fork Creek and ran parallel to McDame Creek. In 1877 the Christie Lead abruptly ran out. Many attempts were made to find where the lead may have continued along the creek. None of these attempts have been successful. Some believe the lost "Christie Lead" awaits rediscovery along McDame Creek.