Continuing with our visit to Fort
Edmonton Park and its historic assembly of buildings and artifacts… We start
this section in 1905…sidetrack to 1885 for a moment…and end in 1920 or so.
This is the Dominion Land Office…an
important place indeed for those settling in Alberta in the late 19th
Century. This isn’t the original office
but it is a similar building that was built about 1900 in Fort
Saskatchewan.
Dominion Land Offices administered the
Dominion Land Act. The Dominion Lands
Act was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of Canada's
Prairie Provinces and to help prevent a potential attack from the United
States. It was closely based on the
United States Homestead Act. In order to
settle the area, Canada invited mass emigration by European and American
pioneers, as well as by settlers from eastern Canada. The Act offered 160 acres of free land,
(except for a small registration fee), to any man over 18 or any woman heading
a household.
The Dominion Lands Act required that each
homesteader provide proof via an application attesting that his or her efforts
had caused the land to increase in value through farming or construction. When a homesteader filed their application,
the local Dominion Lands Office screened and validated the claim, sending an inspector to the property to confirm that the improvements had been made.
This photo was inside the Peter Erasmus House. It was built around 1861 and the Erasmus
family lived in the house until 1941. They say that what is new is old…this is
definitely a ‘modern’ open floor plan!
Peter Erasmus, (1833 – 1931), was a
remarkable individual who played a role in the events which transformed western
Canada from open, buffalo-covered plains into towns and cities. Peter was well educated, fluent in six Native
languages as well as English, Greek, and Latin. He settled at Whitefish Lake where he was an
interpreter, guide, trapper, hunter, and trader. He assisted in negotiating an important Treaty
and he worked for a time with Canada’s Department of Indian Affairs.
At the age of 87, (1920), Erasmus told
his life story to a journalist, who wrote it down. The manuscript subsequently was published in
book form as "Buffalo Days and Nights." (Available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.ca/Buffalo-Days-Nights-Peter-Erasmus/dp/1894004272)
I included this photo because we liked this beautiful and ornate cast iron kitchen stove!
It resides in the Kenneth McDonald house, which was built in 1886 and
was moved to Fort Edmonton Park in 1967. I did some research but I couldn't identify the builder from what I could see on the stove. If you’re intrigued and would like to look into purchasing one of these
beauties, check out this website: http://stovehospital.com/.
The first non-Indigenous or non-Native families
to settle outside the walls of Fort Edmonton were Scottish…the McDonalds and
the Rowlands. Kenneth McDonald, from the
Isle of Lewis, and his wife Emma farmed and lived in the Edmonton area. Emma’s brothers, the Rowlands, who were the
children of William Rowland of Birsay in the Orkney Islands, also settled in
the area. Numerous other fur trading
families and settlers from Eastern Canada soon followed, and Edmonton was soon
transformed from a Hudson Bay Company trading post to a small farming
settlement.
OK… We missed this building when we visited
the 1885 portion of the Park. It sits
back from the rest of the buildings from that era and we didn’t notice it until
we’d moved into the 1905 era. This is
the Northwest Mounted Police Jail. It
was also known as the guard house. It’s
a replica building and it has 10 cells, each of them measuring 8 feet by 5 ½
feet…not real roomy!
A Northwest Mounted Police Regional Headquarters was established
inside the original Fort Edmonton in 1885.
The jail occupied a portion of a former Hudson Bay Company
warehouse. This post-on-sill
construction looks very solid…with its hand hewn logs and mud chinking. However, it proved to be an unhealthy place
indeed…hot and humid in the summer and cold in the winter. Disease was rampant and it was closed in less
than a year.
Part of the 1905 “Main Street” includes a
couple of these structures, a portion of what was known as a tent city in the early
days. Boom times in Edmonton in the
early twentieth century caused a housing shortage. This meant many people had no
choice but to live in canvas tents. Some
even boasted pianos. The Park's ‘tent
city’ reflects the temporary solution that people used until houses could be
built. These structures were also common
in the USA, especially whenever or wherever a new gold or silver discovery was
made…
This is the Firkins' House… This original home was built in 1912 and
it was donated to the Park. The home represents
the young, growing professional class in Edmonton. The house represents an example of the most
modern building designs and technology that was available in 1911. The “Californian bungalow” style home features
stucco on the exterior, which was relatively new to Edmonton at the time. Also a new product called Beaverboard, (a
material of compressed wood fibers), was used on the interior walls. The building was also wired for electricity,
telephone and there was even a coal boiler in the radiator room. Best of all, the home has a garage for an
automobile…in 1912!
This is part of the kitchen at the
Firkins’ house. I’m sure that it was
modern for its time…and it was utilitarian.
Certainly, kitchens back in 1905 weren’t the focus of the home like they
are today…
Dr. Ashley M. Firkins, (a dentist), and
his wife Blanche allegedly moved into this house from Chicago Illinois in
1912. Another account has the family
moving from southern California.
There is a myth or legend attached to the
house… According to the story, the house is haunted. Others say that the whole haunting bit was a
fake. In any case, it made for
interesting Canadian TV… If you’re into
ghosts, spirits and the like, check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOQA5vOp9Ng.
From 1895 to 1911, this was the home to
Alberta’s first premier, Alexander Cameron Rutherford. This is the original house.
A lawyer by trade, Alexander Rutherford
was a proud Ontarian of Scottish descent. In 1895, he moved his family from
Ontario to Edmonton and he became active in politics. His second home, located in Edmonton near the
University of Alberta is now also a museum.
Later in his career and following his service as Premier, Rutherford became
Chancellor of the University of Alberta.
He had been personally involved in that institutions founding.
This is the Rutherford home’s dining
room… It brings back memories of my grandparent’s home in Michigan, which
didn’t look that much different than this one.
The chairs even look the same!
This house in Fort Edmonton Park has been
on display for over 20 years. Using
archival photographs and original condition reports, the Edmonton Artifacts
Center and the Fort Edmonton Park team have recently renovated the Rutherford
family home…wallpaper, paint and refinished woodwork. It is now at the point where they believe
Mrs. Rutherford would be very proud to once again call it home.
Many credit Alexander C. Rutherford as
the man whose vision put Edmonton on the map.
He dreamt of a co-educational University and he was appointed as the
first Premier of Alberta.
This is an antique round top metal ice
box at the Rutherford House! This precursor to the electric
refrigerator was popular in the early 20th century. I found one for sale on eBay for a mere
$999.00!
Alexander Cameron Rutherford's legacy is
mixed. Some have concluded that he was a
weak leader who had very little skill at debate or negotiation. Nevertheless, Rutherford’s government did a
good job of promoting and he is credited for his success in building up the Province. However, while Rutherford himself was an
honorable man, he apparently failed to control his conniving lieutenants who
ultimately ruined his political career.
He resigned from office. One
Canadian historian concluded that Rutherford’s educational contribution remains
his ultimate legacy to the Province.
To learn more about this successful and
complex man, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cameron_Rutherford.
This is the original Anglican Church of St.
Michael and All Angels from Edmonton.
The church was built in 1910 and it was moved to Fort Edmonton Park in
1974.
The initial congregation consisted of
about 20 employees from Swift’s new packing plant in Edmonton and their families. They financed and assisted in building the
church and a resident priest was assigned to the new church by the end of 1910.
This is the warm and calming interior of St.
Michael and All Angels Anglican Church.
As you can see, this simple and quaint white and grey trimmed church has
an elegant hardwood interior. Warm light
is cast from soft electric lights and streams of natural light pour in through
the windows. Note the antique pump organ…
In 1972, the city of Edmonton announced
that they wanted to develop the land occupied by the church. Consequently it was moved, remodeled and
re-consecrated. The church, with a capacity
of 75 seated or 95 standing, is used for many weddings throughout the
year.
This is a fairly uncommon barn design...round! We've seen a few in our travels but not very many. This barn came from the Henderson
homestead near Rabbit Hill Alberta, an area fairly close to Edmonton that is
currently known for its relatively gentle but convenient ski slopes.
The barn was built in 1898. The barn was disassembled and actually moved to the park but the nearby
Henderson farm house is a replica of the original family home that had been built in 1891. The horses that were hanging out by the barn
received a little tender loving attention from Laurie…
This is a reconstruction of Reed's Bazaar
and Tea Shop. (also known as the Lee Block) The original building was built in
1905 but was destroyed by fire in 1913. The
lower floor had the tea room and a store that sold crockery, china and cutlery
as well as many other household items. The
upper floor contained a number of offices which housed architects, physicians
and a tailor.
Robert Lee, (1862 – 1925), was a
politician in Alberta and a mayor of Edmonton.
He also served on the public school board from 1902 until 1904. Lee first sought municipal office in 1907,
when he was elected to a two year term as alderman on Edmonton City Council. He ran for mayor in the 1908 election and
won. He was re-elected in 1909.
Costumed interpreters actually operate
the site and play their part ‘living’ as they would have in their particular
period of time. The do stay in character
and they definitely add to the genuine ambiance of the visitor’s experience.
I found an interesting paper on-line that
examines and speculates about the importance of tea and its psychological
connection with English settlers in Canada and their attempts to maintain their
heritage and identity in a country with so many immigrants from across Europe. Check it out at: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/pi/article/viewFile/9271/7382
The Edmonton Radial Railway, (Streetcar
line), began operations in 1908. The line was 12 miles long and by 1914 there
were 52 miles of track in the downtown Edmonton area. Rides cost 5 cents back in the day.
The streetcar experience at Fort Edmonton
Park started with 1 single car (Edmonton #1) in 1980 and it has since grown
into a collection of 8 operational streetcars with 3 more in various stages of
restoration. Amazingly, another 11 streetcars await eventual restoration or
rebuilding. Work for Edmonton Radial Railway Society’s volunteers is guaranteed
for decades to come!
The Edmonton streetcar system was
abandoned around 1951. Most streetcars
at the time were stripped of their metal parts and electric equipment and the
bodies were sold for further use as cottages, sheds, barns or even roadside
diners. The goal of the Society is to eventually restore at least one car of
each type that once operated in Edmonton. For more information about the Edmonton Radial
Railway Society…and perhaps to lease a streetcar…just go to http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/.
This is a reconstruction of the Edmonton
Fire Hall, Town Hall and Police Station combined. All 3 functions occupied the same building
which was built in 1893. In 1904 the
town offices and police station were moved to a new building adjacent to the
fire hall. Indoor plumbing was added to
the original building in 1905…and a new stable as well as a new hose and bell
tower were erected. After 37 years, the
fire department moved to a new building. The original structure was used by several
organizations until its demolition in 1958.
This fire engine was built by
the R.S. Bickle Company. However, I couldn’t
determine what year it was built.
In 1906, Robert Bickle began his career
in Winnipeg Manitoba as a sales representative for an American fire equipment
manufacturer. By the end of that year he
formed the R.S. Bickle Company. He originally
specialized in building two-wheeled horse-drawn chemical carts but the company
soon began producing motorized fire equipment.
In 1913 the company moved into a new plant
in Ontario where it continued to produce hook-and-ladder trucks and chemical
wagons "ideally suited to small municipalities". The company
continued to grow and during the WWI it sold two-wheeled fire engines to the
Canadian military. In one form or another, the R.S. Bickle
Company continued to operate until 1984.
The company was associated with the American fire equipment
manufacturer, Seagrave, for many years.
For more information about the R.S. Bickle Company, go to http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/b/bickle/bickle.htm.
I couldn’t get close enough to this fire
engine to identify the builder.
Hey…Do you want to buy an antique fire
engine? I was surprised at the number of
antique fire engines for sale on the Internet.
By way of an example, you can go to http://www.fentonfire.com/antique_fire_trucks/listing.php?lid=1959
and take a look at a 1923 GMC pumper.
It’s a steal at only $14,500!
Fenton Fire has an exhaustive list of fire engines for sale, antique and
otherwise.
I’ll end up this segment of our visit to
Ft. Edmonton Park by stepping into the next era on exhibit for the park’s
visitors…the 1920’s. This is a
reconstruction of the Koermann block and Ukrainian bookstore as it appeared in
1919. The building opened in 1913 and
in 1914 the Ukrainian Bookstore moved into one of the front stores, eventually
taking over the whole front space of the lower floor. Apartment space occupied the second floor.
In 2006, there were an estimated
1,209,085 persons of full or partial Ukrainian origin residing in Canada
(mainly Canadian-born citizens) making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group. Canada has the world's third-largest
Ukrainian population behind the Ukraine itself and Russia.
During WWI, about 4,000 Ukrainian men as
well as some women and children of Austro-Hungarian citizenship were kept in
twenty-four internment camps and related work sites – also known, at the time,
as concentration camps. Many were
released in 1916 to help with the mounting labor shortage due to the war. About 80,000 persons of Ukrainian descent were
registered as "enemy aliens" and obliged to regularly report to the
police. Those interned had whatever little wealth they owned confiscated and
were forced to work for the profit of their jailers. For more about the internment and
‘registration’ of Canadian Ukrainians, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Canadian_internment.
Ukrainian heritage is big in
Alberta. Just a bit east of Edmonton,
visitors can find the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, another major
attraction for the area. We had it on
our list but we ran out of time. To
learn about this attraction, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukrainian_Cultural_Heritage_Village.
That’s it for this segment of our visit
to Fort Edmonton Park. Just click on any
of the photos to enlarge them!
Thanks for stopping by for a visit. We’re wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy
New Year!
Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
