Making sense of the Victoria Settlement census

Making sense of the Victoria Settlement census

Jared

Editor’s note: The banner image above is of the school children of Pakan in 1910, the year before the 1911 census. Image donated by Rev. Metro Ponich.

Written by: Sarah Mann, Master’s student in Anthropology, University of Alberta

The Canadian census is something most Canadian adults have experienced. While the survey is often looked as tedious, it can hold a myriad of information and questions. My work around Victoria Settlement Provincial Historic Site was done as part of a Community Service Learning (CSL) internship with the Heritage Division of the Government of Alberta. This work involved looking at what information and further research plans can be drawn from the Victoria Settlement censuses using supplemental materials from community history books from around Alberta. From the census data, I created two spreadsheets tracing the changes and differences in the various censuses done in Victoria Settlement. Comparisons of the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses show several inconsistencies and allow us to ask many questions about life in the area.

Victoria Settlement, northeast of Edmonton along the North Saskatchewan River, was settled in 1862 when George McDougall founded the Methodist mission on the site of a traditional Indigenous camping ground. Then in 1887, the area became known as Pakan after the name of the local post office, which in turn was named for Cree Chief Pakan (James Seenum). The settlement was abandoned in 1922 when the railroad bypassed the community, instead being built through the town of Smoky Lake, approximately 15 km to the north. The eras examined in the censuses are the periods of 1881-1911, as there is a national census every 10 years. In between the years of 1891 and 1901 a large Ukrainian population settled in the area, but my study focused on the Métis elements of the community.

1891 census. Source: Library and Archives Canada.
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Blairmore, Trochu and Grande Prairie home to new Municipal Historic Resources

Blairmore, Trochu and Grande Prairie home to new Municipal Historic Resources

Jared

Editor’s note: Read previous RETROactive posts about Historic Resource designation.

Written by: Ronald Kelland, Historic Places Research and Designation Program

Recently, some new Municipal Historic Designations in the Crowsnest Pass, Trochu and Grande Prairie have been added to the Alberta Register of Historic Places. These resources have been deemed by their municipality to be of significant heritage value to their community. Like Provincial Historic Resources, municipally designated properties are protected under the Historical Resources Act and qualify for conservation grants from the Heritage Preservation Partnership Program.

Cosmopolitan Hotel (Crowsnest Pass – Blairmore)

The Cosmopolitan Hotel is a three-story brick building. Its heritage value lies in its: association with the urban and commercial development of the former mining town; for its design; and for its position as a community landmark. Like many communities in their early days, Blairmore’s earliest buildings were simple, wood-frame structures, which were highly susceptible to fire. The original, wood-frame Cosmopolitan Hotel burned down in 1912, along with much of Blairmore’s commercial district. The hotel was rebuilt as a substantial, 50-room brick structure later that same year.

Although still a simple and understated structure, it affects an impressively solid appearance and has some ornamental details, such as the corbelled parapet that were common on commercial buildings of the period. Located on a corner lot on what was Blairmore’s most important intersection, the Cosmopolitan Hotel has long been a significant landmark in the Crowsnest Pass. Being located across the street from the Blairmore Bandstand, which was a favoured location for community events, miners’ union rallies and strikes, the Cosmopolitan Hotel was often the backdrop of those events, making it a significant focal point for the community.

The Cosmopolitan Hotel was designated as a Municipal Historic Resource in 2016 and was listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places in early 2024.

Cosmopolitan Hotel from the southwest, November 2018. Source: Historic Resources Management, Arts, Culture and Status of Women.
Miners’ Union Rally at the Blairmore Bandstand with the Cosmopolitan Hotel in the background, May 1, 923. Source: Glenbow Archives, NC-54-1607.
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Tipis, Bison and Dogs: Visualizing an Archaeological Feature in Southern Alberta

Tipis, Bison and Dogs: Visualizing an Archaeological Feature in Southern Alberta

Jared

Written by: Todd Kristensen and Emily Moffat, Archaeological Survey of Alberta

Small rings of rock appear across Alberta’s prairies. These stones once weighed down the bison hide covering of tipis – a type of dwelling used by generations of First Nations. Tipis, and the remnants of them, have drawn the attention of archaeologists and historians in the province for over 70 years. It is estimated that Alberta had a million stone circles before being displaced by farming and other developments. Currently, the province has over 8,000 recorded archaeological sites with tipi rings: some are a single circle (a small camp) while others host over 200 rings in one spot (a large gathering of family and allies). New figures and imagery here highlight decades of archaeological research and help visualize how records of tipi rings can reveal dimensions of pre-contact life.        

Exposed, excavated, and mapped tipi rings in Alberta. Source: permits 08-110, 09-050, 11-048, and 21-046.
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Nominations open for 2024 Heritage Awards

Nominations open for 2024 Heritage Awards

Jared

Previous recipients from the Heritage Awards are a testament to the varied range of individuals and groups who work to preserve and celebrate our province’s heritage. Alberta’s history is unique and diverse; the Heritage Awards are just one way to recognize and commend those who write about, research, advocate and celebrate Alberta history.

The Heritage Awards, presented by the Alberta government, help to honour the work of Alberta citizens, groups and communities helping to share protect, preserve and promote our province’s history. The awards recognize individuals, non-profit organizations, corporations, municipalities, First Nations and Métis settlements.

This year, the awards are broken down into three categories: Heritage Conservation, Heritage Awareness and Outstanding Achievement. Learn more about these categories and the nomination process.

Recipients will be recognized at an awards ceremony in September. Further details will come out during the next few months.

To nominate an individual or group, fill out a nomination form and drop off, mail, courier or email your nomination package to:

Heritage Awards Program
Old St. Stephen’s College Building
8820 112 Street
Edmonton, Alberta  T6G 2P8
Email: acsw.heritageawards@gov.ab.ca

J.J. Bowlen, the Vice-Regal Cowboy of Alberta

J.J. Bowlen, the Vice-Regal Cowboy of Alberta

Jared

Written by: Sara Bohuch, BA Archaeology (Simon Fraser University) , MSc Conservation Practice (Cardiff University)

The philosopher Cicero once said that memory is the treasury and guardian of all things. It is also a fleeting feature of the brain, so people have attempted to capture their memory in a physical format for as long as humans have existed.

If these physicalized memories are still considered a treasury, then the place where they are stored becomes less a place to stash random material and more of a bank. If you get enough memory kept in the same place, that bank can start to reflect and inform the identity of a people.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Jared
A young woman with her Valentine installation, 1955. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta.

When the Ice Melted: Revisiting the Ice-Free Corridor

Jared

Editor’s note: The research presented in this blog is from a published journal paper co-authored by Timothy Allan, John Ives, Robin Woywitka, Gabriel Yanicki, Jeffrey Rasic and Todd Kristensen.

Ice sheet margins derived from: Dalton, A. S., M. Margold, C. R. Stokes, L. Tarasov, A. S. Dyke, R. S. Adams, S. Allard, et al. 2020. An Updated Radiocarbon-Based Ice Margin Chronology for the Last Deglaciation of the North American Ice Sheet Complex. Quaternary Science Reviews 234: 106223–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106223.  

Written by: Todd Kristensen, Archaeological Survey of Alberta

Alberta was once covered with glacial ice. Around 22,000 years ago, portions of the ice that sprawled across the province were over 1.5 kms thick. When the ice began to melt, it retreated in two directions (northeast and west) and exposed a pathway dubbed the Ice-Free Corridor that crossed through Alberta and connected previously exposed land masses over the warmer United States and a colder but drier region to the north called Beringia (parts of Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, and Russia). People had settled into the corridor in what is now Alberta by 13,000 years ago. Where did they come from?

The melting of ice sheets over Alberta from roughly 22,000 to 13,000 years ago (based on data from Dalton et al. 2020). The ages are ‘calibrated’ from radiocarbon dates.

New archaeological discoveries are pushing back the ages of when people arrived in Beringia and to the south in the United States. To help understand which of those two areas are the likely source of people who came to Alberta, archaeologists have recently looked at the tools they were carrying, specifically, what kinds of stone the tools were made of. Some of the rock types that people used to craft things like spear points, scrapers and knives, are only found in certain areas in North America: their presence in Alberta’s archaeological record indicates that the stones were transported from far away. In turn, archaeologists look at changes in those ‘toolstone’ materials to track changing relationships; in the absence of other things that don’t preserve in Alberta’s soil, stone tools reveal where people migrated from, who they were interacting with (their ‘kin’) and how that all changed over thousands of years.

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Black History Month: Edmonton boxing legend George Dunn

Jared

Written by: Michael Gourlie, Government Records Archivist, Provincial Archives of Alberta

In the early 1950s, George Dunn appeared frequently on the Edmonton sports pages.  Described as a lightning flash, his boxing career lasted only about a decade in Canada, but his contributions to sport continued after he left the ring.

Dunn was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1925, the son of William Moses Dunn and Mary Helen High-Dunn. His parents died several months apart in 1926, and he was raised by his siblings. He was working in Hartford, Connecticut at the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft factory in 1943 when he registered for the World War II draft.  He served in the US Army for just over two years during the Second World War, seeing action in the Philippines and New Guinea. During this period, Dunn took up boxing to avoid “KP” (kitchen patrol) duties.  He became a professional boxer in 1946 and lost only two matches between 1946 and 1948, racking up 14 knockouts. In his early career, he fought against Sonny Boy West and Lil’ Arthur King.

Geo Dunn vs. Dutch Hopper, 1950 at the Edmonton Stock Sales Pavilion. Source: Provincial Archives of Alberta, photo number: GS798
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The story of a non-descript trowel: Alexander Rutherford and education in Alberta

Jared

Written by: Colby Parkkila, Historical Interpreter, Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site

Within the walls of Rutherford House, the home of Alberta’s first premier Alexander Cameron Rutherford, there are numerous artifacts that are displayed for public viewing. While some items receive plenty of attention, such as Mrs. Rutherford’s piano, Alexander’s bust of Prime Minister Wilfred Laurier, or Mrs. Rutherford’s china, there are many that receive considerably less attention. However, each of these items, big or small, are representative of stories and histories that are deeper and more important than they first appear.

One of these often overlooked artifacts sits atop a nondescript doily on the second shelf of a side table in the library of Rutherford House – a silver-plated brick-laying trowel. Often missed simply because of its slightly obscured location, the trowel appears unassuming at first. After all a trowel is merely a working man’s implement. However, upon closer inspection more is revealed to the keen-eyed observer.

Trowel presented to Alexander Rutherford on September 3rd, 1909, in honour of the laying of the cornerstone for Alexandra School. Source: Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site.

Immediately noticeable is the trowel’s material. Unlike most other trowels, it is not made of wood and metal, but is silver-plated with ornate flowers carved into the handle and a decorative border added to its blade. Both elements suggest that the trowel is not meant for use in construction, but for display and commemorative purposes. Upon closer inspection, an inscription can also be found, reading “Presented to Hon. A. C. Rutherford by Medicine Hat School District No. 76. Laying of Corner Stone Sept 3. ‘09.” The inscription provides some valuable information regarding the provenance and the occasion during which Alexander received this trowel. However, it also raises additional questions: What was this school and why was Alexander present at the laying of its corner stone?

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Adaptability and modern amenities: Laundry in Pakan at the turn of the twentieth century

Jared

Written by: Julia-Rose Miller, Honours Undergraduate, U of A Department of History, Classics and Religion

Laundry has always been among humanity’s greatest burdens. In the past, much like today, clothing had to be washed, bleached, starched, ironed and dried. However, historically, a household’s clothing was by far their most expensive and precious domestic possessions. This meant that the maintenance and laundering of clothing was even more crucial, even though households were likely not in possession of all of our modern cleaning chemicals and detergents. Laundry in Pakan was no different from other areas of Canada at this time as they had access to all the ‘modern amenities’ (hand cranked washing machines, wringers, mangles, irons, clothes lines, laundry tubs, washboards, wash boilers, ironing boards and clothes horses) via catalogues.

Catalogue and Buyers Guide Spring and Summer 1885 no. 57. Source: Chicago: Montgomery Ward & Co. 1885.

Studying domestic labour is at times rather complicated, because, like many other pieces of women’s work, there are few written records detailing laundry activities. To deal with the lack of Pakan-specific sources, my examination of laundry centered on images from Pakan in conjunction with other resources from different parts of Canada like the Eaton’s catalogues and household manuals. Images from Pakan established that residents were wearing western-style, cloth-based textiles, suggesting that they would likely also be using European laundering techniques developed for these articles of clothing. Annie B. Juniper’s Girls’ home manual of cookery, home management, home nursing and laundry provided a comprehensive explanation of numerous laundering techniques and materials popular at the turn of the century. This book, published in Victoria, B.C. in 1913, was given to school girls to instruct them on proper methods for home maintenance.

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