The story of Cameronton is the story of its founder and his wife. John and Sophia Cameron were married in Cornwall, Ontario. The couple set out for Victoria and arrived there in March, 1862. They took the Cariboo Trail to the gold fields, reaching the site that was to become the boomtown of Cameronton in August of that year. Along the way, the Camerons meet a Robert Stevenson and they became partners. They stake a claim that was to produce over a million dollars in time. But Sophia Cameron was never to learn of her husband's good fortune. After only a few months "in this God-forsaken wilderness," Sophia died and was buried inside a small cabin. Her husband vowed she would not have to rest in this "womanless land" any longer than necessary. He would return Sophia to Cornwall. In the dead of winter, he decided the time had come. Her body was removed and prepared for the arduous trip by sled to Fort Douglas and then by steamer to Victoria which required 36 days in all. There her body was placed in a temporary tomb. In November, Cameron had his wife's remains exhumed and placed aboard a ship destined for Panama. Once again, Sophia's remains were exhumed and from Panama taken to Cornwall for final burial attended by her relatives. John Cameron eventually returned to the diggings only to find the old days of scooping up gravel laden with nuggets were long gone. The day of mechanized mining had arrived. He died exactly fifteen years to the day he left Victoria with Sophia's body for Cornwall. He was buried in the cemetery overlooking the scene of his sudden rise to wealth and of his heartbreak.