Tag: historic places research

Mile 58 Forestry Cabin: Heritage significance in a remote area

Jared

Written by: Ron Kelland, Historic Places Research Officer

Alberta’s newest Provincial Historic Resource is the Mile 58 Forestry Cabin in the Willmore Wilderness Park. Now the most remotely located designated resource in the province, the cabin tells an interesting and important story about the protection of Alberta’s forests and the forest rangers that sheltered in cabins like this while riding the trails in our province’s forests.

The Dominion Forestry Branch

The story of the Mile 58 Forestry Cabin begins in Ottawa, with the establishment of the Dominion Forestry Branch in 1899. The Dominion Forestry Branch, a sister service to the Dominion Parks Branch (now Parks Canada Agency), was established to manage forest resources on Crown lands. By 1911, a number of protected forest reserves had been created in Alberta, including the Athabasca Forest Reserve north of Jasper.

Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Alberta Forest History Photographic Collection
The Mile 58 Forestry Cabin was built by forest ranger Jack Glen with assistance from some of his fellow rangers. Glen was a former Royal North-West Mounted Police officer and had joined the Dominion Forestry Branch in 1920. In addition to the Mile 58 Forestry Cabin, Glenn also built the Eagle’s Nest and Big Grave Flats cabins, and was likely involved in others as well. Source: Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Alberta Forest History Photographic Collection.

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Municipal Historic Resource spotlight: Lacombe

Municipal Historic Resource spotlight: Lacombe

Jared

Written by: Ron Kelland, MA, MLIS

In June, we featured several buildings that the City of Lethbridge recently designated as Municipal Historic Resources (MHRs). But Lethbridge isn’t the only city that has been actively protecting its heritage resources and listing them on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. Over the past few months, the City of Lacombe has designated five places as MHRs and added them to the Alberta Register of Historic Places.

Lacombe has been one of Alberta’s most active communities in protecting its historic places. As an early community in the former Alberta Main Street Program, Lacombe has restored and maintained one of the largest historic downtown cores in the province. As of June 1, 2019, there are six sites in Lacombe designated as Provincial Historic Resources and seven designated as Municipal Historic Resources.

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