A photograph from 1907, labelled "Ashcroft Indians on horseback," shows a group of First Nations people gathered near the CPR track in town, not far from the station and depot.
Local First Nations lived at what was then called the "rancheree" (now the Ashcroft reserve) close to the Cariboo Road and what is now Ashcroft Manor. They often came into town to purchase supplies, or to trade or sell woven baskets, as described by Edith Rive (who worked at a bank in Ashcroft) in an account of the Great Fire of July 1916:
"Sometimes the Natives from the adjacent 'rancherees' (small groups of Native houses), would come flocking into town. The women carried hand-made Chilcotin and Thompson River baskets for sale or trade, but usually for trade. These baskets came in many sizes with a variety of designs and were beautifully made. But the men of the town always felt anxious at such times, as their wives loved the baskets, and many a man went home to find that some cherished garment was missing [having been traded for a basket]."
The baskets were so popular that they were sold at the Harvey Bailey store on Railway Avenue; orders for them came in from as far away as Switzerland.
Rive added that one of the entertainments in Ashcroft was the movie theatre, housed in a large tent with a dirt floor, which was popular with everyone. "On basket days there would be quite a number of Natives, adding a touch of colour to the scene."
