Author: rkelland

Most people understand the importance of the oil discovered at Leduc in 1947 and the oil and gas discovered in Turner Valley in 1914. However, Alberta’s oil and gas industry began in 1901 with an isolated oil well alongside a creek near the Canada-United States border.

That creek was known as Oil Creek. Now known as Cameron Creek, this 15 kilometre long creek runs north-easterly for about 9 kilometres before turning and flowing south-easterly into Upper Waterton Lake. The source of the creek is Cameron Lake, a small lake on the Canada-U.S. border deep within Waterton Lakes National Park. The lake was once known as Oil Lake. (Do you see a pattern?)

The lake and the creek were noted, but not named, on George Dawson’s 1884 map of the Bow and Belly River region of the North-West Territories. During his surveys of the area in the 1880s (with the Geological Survey of Canada) and earlier (with the International Boundary Commission) in the 1870s, Dawson was made aware of oil and gas in the Waterton region. In 1901, the Rocky Mountain Development Company drilled Western Canada’s first oil well alongside a creek, which soon became known, for obvious reasons, as Oil Creek.

In 1915, during the survey of the Alberta-British Columbia border, the lake and creek were again noted. The 1917 report on the Alberta- B.C. boundary described them as: “Cameron Lake, a picturesque sheet of water, one mile and a half long by half a mile wide” and “Cameron Brook, a stream of considerable size, which flows to Upper Waterton Lake”.

The lake and creek were named for Maj.-Gen. Donald Roderick Cameron, a Scottish-born Royal Artillery officer and son-in-law to Sir Charles Tupper. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald recommended Cameron’s appointment as the British Boundary Commissioner and head of the British-Canadian delegation to the International Boundary Commission. From 1872-76, Cameron oversaw the surveying of the Canada-U.S. border between the Lake of the Woods (in western Ontario) to the Rocky Mountains. He later represented Canada on numerous international commissions and conferences through the 1880s and he served as commandant of the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario from 1888 to 1896. For his services to the boundary commission he was appointed to the Order of St. Michael and St. George by Queen Victoria. General Cameron died in 1921. In 1943, Cameron Falls, just north of the Waterton Park town site, was also named in his honour.

In 1915, the Geographic Board of Canada adopted Cameron Brook as the official name for the creek. Although, the name of the lake was not officially changed at the time, it nevertheless began appearing on federal government maps as Cameron Lake. The name Cameron Lake was officially adopted in 1928. The following year, the United States Board on Geographic Names adopted the same name for the portion of the lake located in Montana. In 1960, the Canadian Board on Geographical Names renamed Cameron Brook as Cameron Creek.

Although the names Oil Lake and Oil Creek are no longer official, the significance of the area in the development of Canada’s oil sector is commemorated by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. In 1965, a monument was erected at the site the original oil well and the site was named the First Oil Well in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Names Program Coordinator.

Location

Cameron Creek
National Topographic System Map Sheet: 82 H/04 – Waterton Lakes
Latitude/Longitude: 49°01’11N / 114°02’38”W to 49°02’41”N / 113°54’45”W
Alberta Township System: SW11-01-01-W5 to NW14-01-30-W4
Description: Flows into Upper Waterton Lake within the Waterton Park town site.

Cameron Lake
National Topographic System Map Sheet: 82 G/01 – Sage Creek
Alberta Township System: 2, 3, 10, 11-01-01-W5
Description: On the Canada/US border approximately 11 km south west of the Waterton Park town site and 1 km east of the Alberta/British Columbia boundary.

Additional Resources

More information about Cameron Creek, Cameron Lake, Maj-Gen. Donald R. Cameron and the First Oil Well in Western Canada can be found in:

Edwards, Victoria. “Major General Donald Roderick Cameron C.M.G.” eVeritas [electronic newsletter of the Royal Military College Club], available from http://everitas.rmcclub.ca/?p=4485. (Accessed 16 Oct 2013).

Parks Canada. “First Oil Well in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada,” [webpage], available from http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/v-g/pm-mp/lhn-nhs/puits-well_e.asp. (Accessed 16 Oct 2013).

Rees, Tony. Arc of the Medicine Line: mapping the World’s Longest Undefended Border across the Western Plains. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.

Last Sunday (June 2nd) was the 60th anniversary of  Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation. She had been Queen for over a year at the time. (She ascended to the throne upon the death of King George VI, her father, in February 1952.) The timing allowed for a period of mourning for the late King and to organise the pomp and ceremony of a coronation.

Canada marked the occasion by naming a large mountain range in Jasper National Park for our new Queen. Many places names in Canada have been inspired by members of the Royal family. To learn more about this you could revisit our post on the Royal Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II and Place Names.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Names Program Coordinator.

The Alberta Historical Resources Foundation and the Minister of Culture has officially adopted the name Adams Lake for a small lake in Red Deer County (see information bulletin). The lake is approximately 100 hectares (250 acres) in size and located about two kilometres south of Raven and 35 kilometres west of Innisfail. The adoption of this name is significant as it commemorates the Adams family, who homesteaded in the region, and recognizes a name that has been used locally for about 100 years.

The name commemorates the family of David and Julia Adams. David Arthur Adams was born in Stratford, Ontario. As a young man he met Julia Marie Hedlund, of Chippewa County, Minnesota at a hotel in Lakota, North Dakota. They were married in 1902 and lived for a time with David’s parents in Birtle, Manitoba. The couple soon struck out on their own and lived for a time in Vancouver and Mission, British Columbia and in Calgary, Alberta. Ultimately, in 1912, they settled on a homestead in the Raven District. The homestead, NW2-36-4-W5, was on the eastern shore of a small lake. The lake had been previously noted as “Lake No. 3” in a 1904 Dominion Land Survey Plan of Township 36-4-W5 and it appears unnamed on most federal government maps of the region following that date. It became popular with people from as far away as Spruce View for skating in the winter months and after 1912, it became known to locals as “Adams Lake,” likely due to the family’s proximity.

By the time the Adams’ had settled near Raven, they were raising six children, and four more were born during their time at the homestead. According to David and Julia’s descendents, the land the family was working was not ideal for agriculture and, perhaps for this reason, at the age of 42, David Adams enlisted for service with the 187^th (Central Alberta) Regiment during the First World War. Following the war he returned to farming. However, as the older children grew up and left home for farms in the neighbouring districts, and other careers of their own in Spruce View, Bowden, Innisfail and Rocky Mountain House, the farmstead was not sustainable and at some point in the 1920s David and Julia also left the area. David passed away in Calgary in 1942. Julia lived with her children in the Dickson and Kevisville districts and the Pigeon Lake area before also passing away in Calgary in 1966.

Although the Adams family remained in the general area for some time, their direct association with the lake was relatively short. However, field research done by the Alberta Geographical Names Program in 1981 and 2012 found that the name Adams Lake was still being used by many local residents and that the name had been in use since at least the 1920s, probably even longer. The lake has also been identified by that name in local publications, newspapers and water conservation reports for the area.

In Alberta, geographical names are adopted after being evaluated against the “Principles of Geographical Naming.” These principles can be found in the Geographical Names Manual. The principles to approve names are based on national and international standards and guidelines and hold that names that have a demonstrated local and/or historical usage should be given primacy when names are being considered for features with no official name. In 2011, Robert Nanninga, a resident of the Raven area applied to Alberta Culture to have the long-standing, but unofficial name given official recognition by Alberta Culture. A considerable amount of information was provided by the applicant and the region’s local history (Grub Axe to Grain…). However, the real breakthrough came when another area resident put researchers in touch with Ken Adams, a grandson of David and Julia. Through him connections were made with Georgina O’Coin, a granddaughter, and Edith Hudson (née Adams), the last surviving child of David and Julia. When these three family members were interviewed in Red Deer in August 2012, Mrs. Hudson was 101 years old. The information given during this interview proved invaluable in firming up the history of the lake and family by providing more details than were included in the local history. It was a true pleasure to be able to meet with the descendents of this homesteading family.

The Adams Lake naming proposal was supported by the Municipal Council of Red Deer County. The Board of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation decided to officially adopt the name during their October 20, 2012 meeting in Banff. On November 19, 2012, the Minister of Culture concurred with the board’s decision and the adoption of the name became official. Notification of the adoption of the name Adams Lake was published in Alberta Gazette on January 15, 2013. Notification of the new official name has been communicated to provincial mapping authorities and to the Secretariat of the Geographical Names Board of Canada for inclusion in the Canadian Geographical Names Database, ensuring that the name will appear on new maps of the region produced by the federal and provincial governments.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Names Program Coordinator

Location

National Topographic System Map Sheet: 83 B/1 – Markerville

Latitude/Longitude: 52° 04′ 05″ N & 114° 29′ 05″ W

Alberta Township System: Sec. 3 Twp. 36 Rge. 4 W5

Description: Approximately two km south of Raven and 35 km west of Innisfail (town).

Additional Resources 

Additional information about the lake and the Adams family can be found in:

Grub Axe to Grain…: A History of Craig, Dickson, Happy Hill, Heckla, Hola, Markerville, New Hill, North Raven, Raven, Red Raven, Rich Hill, Spruce View (Spruce View: Spruce View School Area Historical Society, 1973). Available from Our Future Our Past: The Alberta Heritage Digitization Project, University of Calgary, http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/toc.aspx?id=7618.

Apparently we can use some kind of built in WordPress web analytics tool to find out which search terms people enter into their web browsers to arrive at RETROactive. Curiously, over the past few days, there have been a number of searches for the origin of the name Andrew, which is a village in east-central Alberta. There is nothing on RETROactive that will provide that information, so I figured I would make the origin of the name of the Village of Andrew the subject of this post. So, anonymous searching person, I don’t know if you are still out there, but This One’s For You!!!

Andrew is a village located in east-central Alberta, approximately 70 km northeast of Edmonton and 45 km NNW of Vegreville. The community is named for prominent, early resident Andrew Whitford, who was a member of the large Métis, Whitford family that resided in the vicinity of Victoria Settlement. The nearby Whitford Lake, Whitford Creek and the hamlet of Whitford are all named for the family.

Andrew Whitford was born about 1830. It appears that he worked as a freighter and travelled extensively throughout the North West Territories. In 1885, he served as a scout during the North-West Rebellion, for which he, along with other scouts and militia members, received two adjacent quarter sections of land. Whitford selected the SE and SW quarters of Section 32, Township 56, Range 16, West of the 4^th Meridian. He was widely acknowledged as a leader in the community; issues of the Edmonton Bulletin note many instances of his support for local charitable causes and his frequent support for orphaned children and destitute families in the Star/Whitford/Andrew region through the late 1890s. He also served as a founding trustee and later treasurer of the local school district, which was established in 1895 and called, fittingly enough, the Whitford School District No. 393. In the spring of 1901, a small pox epidemic broke out in east-central Alberta. Andrew Whitford contracted the disease and passed away on April 26. A short obituary appeared in the May 3, 1901 issue of the Edmonton Bulletin:

Died, at Whitford on April 26^th, 1901, Andrew Whitford, aged about 70 years of small pox and complications. The demise of Mr. Whitford removes from our midst a man of universal respect and an old land mark of the west who could tell many reminiscences of early life between old Fort Gary and Vancouver. He was a trusted and worthy scout of ’85, and saw much of the stirring rebellion. At his death he was treasurer of Whitford P.S.D., April 26, 1901.

John Borwick, a long-time guide and early settler in the same region, operated a stopping house at NW28-56-16-W4, near the junction of the Winnipeg Trail and the Calgary-Pakan Trail. Following Whitford’s death, Borwick named the stopping house the Andrew Hotel, in honour of his friend and long-time compatriot. Alongside the Andrew Hotel was a store owned by Ed Carey. On March 1, 1902, a post office was established and given the name Andrew. Eliza Borwick, John’s wife, was the first postmaster. A small, but thriving rural community began developing around these three facilities.

In 1928, after much lobbying by area residents, the Canadian Pacific Railway built a line through the region and surveyed a town site at SE32-56-16-W4 on the north side of the tracks. The rural community of Andrew was located mostly on the neighbouring quarter section to the southeast. The Andrew Hotel, the post office, the store and most of the rest of the community moved to the new surveyed town site. Fittingly, the new town site of Andrew was located on one of Andrew Whitford’s original quarter sections. Two years later, on June 24, 1930, Andrew was erected as a village. According to 2011 Census of Canada, the Village of Andrew has a population of 379, down from 465 in 2006.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Place Names Coordinator

Location

National Topographic System Map Sheet: 83 H/16 – Willingdon

Latitude/Longitude:

53° 52’ 42” N & 112° 20’ 07” W

Alberta Township System:

Sec 32 Twp 56 Rge 16 W4

Description:

Approximately 70 km northeast of Edmonton and 45 km NNW of Vegreville.

Additional Resources

More information about the Village of Andrew can be found in:

Andrew Historical Society, Dreams and Destinies: Andrew and District, (Andrew: Andrew Historical Society, 1980).

Cathy Chorniawy, Commerce in the Country: A Land Use and Structural History of the Luzan Grocery Store, (Edmonton: Alberta Culture, Government of Alberta, 1989).

In Part 1, we read about “Lee’s Creek,” as mentioned in Corb Lund’s song “The Truth Comes Out” and how Lee Creek in the Cardston area is named for early pioneer William Samuel Lee.  So, what’s up with the different spelling? Is it Lee Creek or Lee’s Creek? It may actually be both. Confused? Read on for more. 

Even though Lee only lived on the creek named for him for about three years (1867-1870), the name stuck. A map produced by the Geological Survey of Canada in 1884 identifies the creek as “Lee’s Creek.” In 1894, the name “Lee Creek” (without the possessive apostrophe) was recorded by the Dominion Land Survey in the field notes of surveyor Fred W. Wilkins and in the diary of Arthur O. Wheeler (for more about Wheeler see the St. Nicholas Peak post of December 22, 2011). In 1901, the Geographic Board of Canada approved the non-possessive form of the name – Lee Creek – for use on official maps. The portion of the creek south of the 49^th parallel remained officially unnamed until 1929, when the United States Board on Geographical Names (USBGN) sanctioned the name Lee Creek for their portion of the water feature.

So why the different spellings of Lee/Lee’s Creek? The use of the possessive form of words in place names is generally discouraged. Some of the rationales for not using the possessive form of names are that geographical features do not belong to a single person or group, but to all people; that place names are not words with a specific dictionary meaning, but are labels to which standard grammatical rules do not necessarily apply; and that the presence of apostrophes cause confusion, particularly when attempting to retrieve names in modern databases, internet search engines and directional software used by emergency services (police, ambulance, fire). There is also a belief (likely apocryphal) that apostrophes were not used on early maps because they were often confused with the standard cartographic notation indicating the presence of stones and rocks.

The USBGN and the Committee for Geographical Names in Australia both have policies prohibiting the use of the possessive apostrophe in the official names of geographical features. Many naming regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom have been eliminating apostrophes from their official names. Canada and Alberta also discourage the use of the possessive apostrophe, however Principle 5(A) of Alberta’s “Principles of Geographical Naming” does allow for the use of possessive forms if it can be demonstrated that form of the name is in long-standing local use.

However, despite all of the official naming standards and policies, local names and forms die hard. In the case of Lee Creek, even more than 110 years after that form of the name was officially adopted the locals still refer to it as “Lee’s Creek. When asked if the Lee Creek on the map was the same as the Lee’s Creek in his song, Corb Lund replied

Yup. Same one. It flows right through our ranch near Beazer. I grew up swimming and fly fishing it. My Grandpa, whose father homesteaded the place, called it “Lee’s Creek.” “Lee’s Crick to be really precise, but I’ve seen it called “Lee Creek.” In my experience, the locals I knew called it “Lee’s” and the book name was always “Lee,” but your mileage may vary…

At the end of the day, whatever the form the name takes, Lee (or Lee’s) Creek, the creek and its name continues to commemorate one of Alberta’s earliest pioneers.

To read Part 1, click here.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Names Program Coordinator 

Location: 

National Topographic System Map Sheet: 82 N/09 – Hector Lake

Latitude/Longitude:

48° 59’ 53” N & 113° 36’ 02” W (at US/Canada border) to

49° 13′ 25″ N & 113° 15′ 59″ W (at confluence with St. Mary River)

Alberta Township System:

SW ¼, Sec 6 Twp 1 Rge 27 W4 (at US/Canada border) to

SW ¼, Sec 23 Twp 3 Rge 25 W4 (at confluence with St. Mary River)

Description:

Flows generally north-easterly from the border for approximately 65 km (35 km straight line) until it joins the St. Mary River just north of the Town of Cardston 

Additional Resources: 

More information about and images of Lee Creek and William Samuel Lee can be found in:

C. Drain, “Lee, William – The Pass was his Bull Run,” Crowsnest and its People, 2^nd printing, (Coleman: Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1980), 662-663

The inspiration for some of these blog posts comes from the darndest places and some have extremely long gestation periods. Such is the case with this one.

Place names have a long history of being used in popular music. While American references abound, finding songs that mention Alberta, or even Canadian places or names are much harder to find. It seems that people would rather leave their heart in San Francisco than in Sangudo or spread the news about New York rather than New Sarepta. But if you look hard enough, there are examples of Alberta place names used in songs.

It was early January 2012. I was desperately trying to get the once enjoyable, but now overplayed and cloyingly sentimental tones of Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole from running through my head like the soundtrack to some never-ending, slightly demented holiday television special. So, I popped one of my favourite CDs into the player and the wonderful sounds of Corb Lund and the Hurtin’ Albertans started emanating from my speakers. The disc eventually came around to Track 8, “The Truth Comes Out.” Now, the house is pretty quiet, and I am listening to the lyrics much more closely than I otherwise might, and I hear:

You gotta’ look out for bear when you’re fishing on Lee’s Creek

They come ‘round the bend and they’ll make your knees weak

There’s grizzlies where there was no grizzly bears before.

Now, I know that Corb Lund is from southern Alberta and even though I am the names guy, I am not all that familiar with the southern reaches of the province. After mulling over the song for awhile, I start to wonder if there really is a “Lee’s Creek.” So, I fire up the old Alberta Geographical Names Database and sure enough there is a “Lee’s Creek,” or more properly there is a Lee Creek (more on that in a moment) in southern Alberta. It is a substantial creek with an interesting history.

Lee Creek is located in south-western Alberta. It rises within Montana’s Glacier National Park and flows generally north-easterly, crossing into Canada about 16 kilometres west of the Carway, AB / Peigan, MT border crossing. It continues to meander generally north-easterly for about 60 km (35 km as the crow flies), passing through the Town of Cardston before joining the St. Mary River in Section 23, Township 3, Range 25, West of the 4^th Meridian (approximately 60 km south-west of Lethbridge).

The creek is named for William Samuel Lee. According to a local history of the Crowsnest Pass region, Lee was born in England at about 1830. As a young man, he migrated to the United States and worked in New York and Ohio before making his way to California hoping to make his fortune in the gold rush. Like most prospectors, Lee’s hopes of quick wealth in the gold fields were disappointed and he headed north to Fort Benton, Montana District to try his hand at fur trading. In 1867, Lee crossed the border into Rupert’s Land where he came upon a well-used ford across a substantial creek. He established a small trading post beside the ford (just west of present-day Beazer). The creek soon became known as “Lee’s Creek.”

Lee did not stay long on the creek named for him; he moved to the Pincher Creek area in 1870 and began ranching. He squatted on land along the shores of a lake (Lee Lake, go figure) about three km south east of present day Burmis. A few years later, Lee was evicted by the Hudson’s Bay Company and he moved his ranch, buildings and all, to a site north of Burmis. Lee is an important figure in the history of the Crowsnest Pass. He is considered to be the first non-native resident of the Pass; he discovered sulphur springs near present-day Frank; opened a boarding house; and built the region’s first school. William Lee spent the rest of his life in the Crowsnest region; he died of pneumonia in 1896.

Curious to learn more? Check out Part 2.

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer and Geographical Names Program Coordinator

Location:

National Topographic System Map Sheet: 82 N/09 – Hector Lake

Latitude/Longitude:

48° 59’ 53” N & 113° 36’ 02” W (at US/Canada border) to

49° 13′ 25″ N & 113° 15′ 59″ W (at confluence with St. Mary River)

Alberta Township System:

SW ¼, Sec 6 Twp 1 Rge 27 W4 (at US/Canada border) to

SW ¼, Sec 23 Twp 3 Rge 25 W4 (at confluence with St. Mary River)

Description:

Flows generally north-easterly from the border for approximately 65 km (35 km straight line) until it joins the St. Mary River just north of the Town of Cardston 

Additional Resources: 

More information about and images of Lee Creek and William Samuel Lee can be found in:

C. Drain, “Lee, William – The Pass was his Bull Run,” Crowsnest and its People, 2^nd printing, (Coleman: Crowsnest Pass Historical Society, 1980), 662-663