Dunvegan Provincial Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dunvegan Provincial Park |
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 Dunvegan Provincial Park
Location in Alberta
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| Location | Fairview No. 136, Alberta, Canada |
| Nearest city | Fairview |
| Governing body | Alberta Culture |
Dunvegan Provincial Park and Historic Dunvegan are special places in Alberta, Canada. They are a provincial park and a historic site all in one spot. You can find them in Dunvegan, right where the Peace River meets Highway 2. This area is between the towns of Rycroft and Fairview.
This location was once home to one of Alberta's very first fur trade posts. It was also an important centre for missionary work. The original Fort Dunvegan, built here in 1805, is now a National Historic Site of Canada. It was built by Archibald Norman McLeod and named after his family's old home, Dunvegan Castle.
Today, the historic site has a visitor centre and four old buildings. People who work there dress up and teach visitors about the past. The park also has a campground with 67 spots for camping. There's also a day-use area and a playground for fun. Dunvegan Provincial Park is looked after by two different groups: Alberta Parks manages the campground, and Alberta Culture takes care of the historic buildings.
Right next to this park, along the south bank of the Peace River, is Dunvegan West Wildland Provincial Park.
Contents
Exploring Dunvegan's Past
Nature's Story at Dunvegan
Dunvegan sits on a flat piece of land on the north side of the Peace River. This is where the river reaches its most southern point in Alberta. The Peace River is quite new in terms of geology. It's still changing the land around it. You can see this in the landslides along its banks and the sandbars forming in the water.
The river began to form about 15,000 years ago. This was after the huge glaciers from the last ice age started to melt. A giant lake covered almost all of the Peace River Country back then. The Peace River helped drain this big lake. It flows east and then north, eventually joining the Mackenzie Basin, which empties into the Arctic Ocean.
Over many centuries, as the glacial lake shrank, the river levels dropped. You can still see signs of old shorelines on the high land overlooking Dunvegan. Eventually, flat areas like the one where Dunvegan is now appeared along the river.
These flat areas were covered with rich soil. This made the land very green and full of plants. Many animals also lived here. Sir Alexander Mackenzie noticed this when he explored the area in 1793. He wrote about the beautiful trees and the many elk and buffalo he saw. He described the land as "exuberant verdure," meaning very lush and green.
First Peoples of the Peace River
Alexander Mackenzie and his group were looking for new places to trade furs. They also hoped to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. In the winter of 1792-93, they camped near the Peace and Smoky Rivers. There, they met members of the Beaver First Nation. They learned a lot about their culture.
The Beaver people, also known as the Dunne-za, were an Athapaskan (Dene) group. They had moved into the region from the north over a hundred years before. More recently, they had faced challenges from Cree groups. The Cree were coming from the southeast, also looking for hunting and trading spots.
Mackenzie described the Beaver as "excellent hunters." He also noted they were "liberal and generous" and "remarkable for their honesty." Later visitors also found the Beaver people to be peaceful. Daniel Harmon, who lived at Dunvegan from 1808 to 1810, called them "a peaceable and quiet people." He thought they were "perhaps the most honest of any on the face of the earth."
The Fur Trade Era
In the early 1800s, the fur trade was very important. Fort Dunvegan was a busy trading post. In 1823, a nearby post, Fort St. John, was set to close. This was to encourage the Beaver people to trade at Dunvegan. However, some Beaver people were upset by this. A group attacked and killed a trader and four men at Fort St. John. Because of this, Dunvegan was also closed for a short time.
By 1828, things were peaceful again along the Peace River. Dunvegan reopened, and trading continued. Soon, Beaver groups were joined by Cree people and even some Iroquois. People would travel from far away to Dunvegan in spring and fall. They came to get goods, promising to pay with furs and meat later.
At Dunvegan, the animal furs were prepared and packed into bales. Then, they were shipped down the river. They went to other forts like Fort Chipewyan and Fort McMurray. From there, the furs traveled east to Hudson Bay. Finally, they were shipped across the ocean to London, England.
During these busy years, Dunvegan grew into a large trading post. More than 40 men worked there, and sometimes women too. The main trader had many "servants." Many of these workers were Scottish. But more and more Métis people also joined the fur trade. Some "freemen" were also hired to hunt, trap, and move goods for the company. Most of these were Métis, but some Cree and Beaver people also worked directly for the trading company as hunters.
Challenges for First Nations
With so much hunting and trapping, the number of fur-bearing animals started to drop. This made life very hard for the Native communities. The 1840s were especially difficult. People faced hunger and hardship.
One trader, Francis Butcher, wrote in his journal in 1842 about the struggles. He described people arriving at the fort, "nothing but skin and bone." Some families were too weak to travel. He wrote about sending help for those who were starving. It was a very tough time for many families in the area.
On top of hunger, new diseases brought by Europeans also caused problems. Throughout the 1800s, there were outbreaks of illnesses like influenza, smallpox, and measles. Many people became sick and died.
Because of the illness and hunger, many people in the late 1800s thought the Beaver people were disappearing. However, they survived. Many moved west into British Columbia. Even after a terrible worldwide flu outbreak in 1918-1919, their population grew. Many also married into other First Nations groups.
The Arrival of Missionaries
Anglican and Roman Catholic missionaries came to Dunvegan in the late 1800s. They were especially concerned about the Beaver people. They wanted to build churches near the trading post. The first Christian missionary to visit was James Evans in 1841, but he didn't stay.
In 1867, a Catholic missionary named Father Christophe Tissier started the St. Charles Mission. It was on land just east of the trading post. Father Tissier's letters show how hard life was for many priests in the wilderness. He stayed until the mid-1880s. Other priests, like Father Emile Grouard, took over. They fixed up the mission and built a new church and rectory (the priest's house). These buildings have been restored and are a main part of Historic Dunvegan today.
In 1880, the Anglicans also started a mission. It was on the west side of the trading post. One important Anglican missionary was Alfred Campbell Garrioch. He stayed until 1891 with his wife, Agnes. His book, A Hatchet Mark In Duplicate, tells us a lot about life around Dunvegan at that time.
There are no buildings left from the Anglican mission. But you can still see some of the trees he planted. There is also the grave of the Garriochs’ baby daughter, Caroline.
The Changing Fur Trade
The fur trade around Dunvegan started to slow down in the 1880s. This was one reason why Alfred Garrioch left. Even the Catholic mission saw fewer people attending.
The Hudson's Bay Company, a big fur trading company, decided to focus more on other rivers. They moved their furs down to Fort Edmonton. In the ten years before this, many independent traders had come to the Peace River. They set up their own trading posts. One famous trader, Henry Fuller "Twelve Foot" Davis, even had a post across the river from Dunvegan.
In 1878, Dunvegan had become the main office for the Peace River Trading District. This district included posts at Fort St. John, Hudson's Hope, and other places. New buildings were built, like a fur office and warehouses. The Factor's House, built in 1878, is the oldest house still standing in northern Alberta. It's another important part of Historic Dunvegan.
Treaty 8 and New Beginnings
In 1899, Treaty 8 was signed with the First Nations people of northern Alberta. This treaty was about land and rights. During this time, many people were coming to the area because of the Klondike gold rush. The government thought many settlers would soon arrive.
After the treaty was signed, the government encouraged farmers to settle in the Peace River Country. Some land was set aside as reserves for Native people who chose the treaty. North of Dunvegan, a large Beaver reserve was divided in 1905.
However, many settlers didn't come right away. There was no railway to the area. In 1909, the Alberta government offered money to railway companies. They wanted them to build lines into the Peace River region. Several railway projects were announced. A land office was set up, and people started to claim land for farming.
Dunvegan's Railway Dream
The railway finally reached the Peace River Country in 1915. It was called the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway. At first, the plan was for the railway to cross the Peace River right at Dunvegan. Because of this, many business people bought land around the old fur trade site. They hoped to create new towns. They were sure Dunvegan would become a big city.
But building a bridge across the Peace River at Dunvegan was very difficult. The river banks were too high and jagged. So, the railway company changed its plans. They built the railway to other towns instead. Another railway line crossed the Peace River at Peace River town in 1919. The towns that were planned for Dunvegan never happened. But many investors still owned land there for a long time.
From Trading Post to Market Garden
With the railway plans changed and the fur trade almost gone, the Hudson's Bay Company trading post closed in 1918. But this wasn't the end for the site. In 1909, the government started a ferry service across the river. This ferry became an important link between the north and south parts of the Peace River Country. Highway #1 (later #2) crossed there. In 1912, a telegraph office also opened.
In 1921, Robert and Lily Peters moved into the Factor's House. They also bought the 32 acres of land around it. They lived there with their children until 1943. The Factor's House was their home, but it was also a grocery store, gas station, post office, and telephone office. The old mission site became a home and repair shop for the ferry operators. The chapel even became a general store.
The Peters family also had a large garden. They grew many fruits and vegetables. Farming had been important at Dunvegan since the early 1800s. This was one reason the government thought the Peace River Country would be great for farming. In 1946, Mike Marusiak bought the Peters property. He wanted to start a market garden. Over time, this became the most successful market garden in northwest Alberta. It was famous for its corn, cucumbers, and fruits like strawberries and watermelon.
Dunvegan Becomes a Historic Site
Meanwhile, the land with the St. Charles Mission and Rectory was still owned by the Roman Catholic Church. People often had picnics there. A local group, the Knights of Columbus, started to take care of the Church buildings. They eventually turned the Church into a museum. In 1956, they convinced the government to buy part of the site as a provincial park. The government then began to restore the old buildings.
The area to the west, where the old Anglican mission was, also became a popular picnic spot. It was known as "the Maples." It later became a municipal park.
In 1960, the government replaced the ferry with a large suspension bridge. In 1978, the Factor's House was named a provincial historic building. In 1984, the government bought the building and the land around it. This included the St. Charles Mission and rectory. Land to the east was then made into a provincial campground. In 1994, a Visitor Reception Center opened. It welcomes visitors during the summer. The Centre continues to help visitors and works closely with the Fort Dunvegan Historical Society.
Images for kids
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Fort Dunvegan
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Fort Dunvegan on the Peace River
