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Page last updated January 22, 2009

A derelict building called the Anders Roadhouse which now serves chiefly as a billboard structure for the Ford dealership in Quesnel. It's a classic "saltbox" with a straight front facade, two storeys of windows on the front, and a collapsed dormer on the rear roof pitch. It stands by the side of the highway about 5 km. north of the Fort Alexandria historic cairn. Does anyone have more detailed information about it? It was getting late in the evening on a summer day in 2003 when I stopped, and I regret not spending more time painting a better watercolour of it. I haven't been back since .... Further investigation, in A Tribute to the Past by the Old Age Pensioners' Organization,  indicates that this was the 183 Mile roadhouse owned by W.J. "Buckshot" Anders, whose main occupation was threshing for farmers between Soda Creek and Quesnel. It comprised a small farm, store and change-stop for the BX stages. This appears in my book, Vanishing British Columbia, on page 178. Note and photos from a correspondent requesting anonymity, 2009: I have always thought that house was so cool. I grew up in Quesnel and remember passing by it when I was little and thinking it was really neat. It was last summer that my friend and I went and tried to explore it a bit. It is really run down, the top floor is collapsing into the bottom, and there is a large hole cut in the front door. We took a few pictures, but did not want to risk the house falling on us, so it wasn't nearly as in-depth as we would have liked. Also, the woman from next door chased us off, lol. There is still a lot of furniture in the house, and when you go around back you can see up into the 2nd floor. The old wooden stairs in the house are beautiful! Not sure what is up with the gate 1/3rd of the way down tho, weird. My mom says that back in the 70's, when she was a teenager, the house was used by local teens as a party place, because it was too far out of town for the police to come and break up the fun. Well one night there was a big party there, and a car full of kids left and were going back to Quesnel and on the really big corner (I think just after Kersely) they hit a fuel tanker truck and it exploded on the highway and all the kids were killed. The police had the highway shut down and none of the parents could get through to find out if their kids were alright, and none of the kids on the other side of the accident could get home.