I woke up, took a look outside at a cloudless sunny Alberta day when a friend & fellow rider phoned & asked.. how about a ride to Smokey Lake? Well, I'd never been there so might as well add it to the small list of Alberta towns I've visited. We were on our way within half an hour & on the way out, we passed 5 or 6 Ghost Houses which were promptly dedicated to memory & filed under must visit at a later date! Within an hour or so, we rode into the sleepy little town of Smokey Lake. Along the main road was what seemed to be one of the few Restaurants in town so we pulled in for lunch. During conversation, I was asked if I'd been to the Victoria Settlement? Being born & raised in BC, It had never really crossed my mind to hunt down any Alberta history, be it Ghost towns, Heritage sites with the exception of Nordegg which we've been visiting for 20 some years or so. So I answered no, I haven't been there. Well it's on the way home anyway, so I agreed.
We took a back road out of Smokey Lake & meandered our way through some beautiful treed country till we reached the turn off for Victoria Trail. We turned off the main road and rode the 3 or 4 miles to the Settlement, parked & dismounted.
The first thing you see as you enter the Settlement is the Methodist Church, built in the early 1900's. Opposite the church is the old Hudsons Bay clerk's quarters built in 1864. This building had many uses after the HBC moved on including a private residence up till the 1960's when it was bought by the Government & restored, during the 70's, to it's 1880 state. It was opened to the public in 1981. Not long after parking the bikes, we were greeted by a nice young volunteer, dressed in period correct clothing & asked to come into the church to sign the guest book. After signing the book, I sat in one of the pews & breathed in the old church smells consisting of old books, old wooden pews, wiffs of wood smoke & a familiar mustiness. There's nothing that smells quite like an old church!
The first thing you see as you enter the Settlement is the Methodist Church, built in the early 1900's. Opposite the church is the old Hudsons Bay clerk's quarters built in 1864. This building had many uses after the HBC moved on including a private residence up till the 1960's when it was bought by the Government & restored, during the 70's, to it's 1880 state. It was opened to the public in 1981. Not long after parking the bikes, we were greeted by a nice young volunteer, dressed in period correct clothing & asked to come into the church to sign the guest book. After signing the book, I sat in one of the pews & breathed in the old church smells consisting of old books, old wooden pews, wiffs of wood smoke & a familiar mustiness. There's nothing that smells quite like an old church!
For a nominal fee, our guide proceeded with the short tour of the Settlement. First were the strange wood beams burried in the ground, which she explained traced where the rest of the original buildings would have been located in the original HBC fort. Then there were the 4 corners of wooden posts outlining where the original fort walls would have stood. We entered the Clerk's quarters through the kitchen where our guide had baked homemade licorice that morning in the period correct wood stove. I dislike licorice but found this to taste nothing like store bought, this had a nice molasses flavour, very tasty!! Into the house where they had restored the walls back to original even having some of the original wood panels still stamped with HB ( Hudsons Bay). The guide painted a picture of every day life including fur trading, stories of daily life from that time, toys the children played with, how they would stuff furs in the rafters to insulate against the severe winter chill, how Rev. McDougall liked salt but being a scarce commodity, he'd count the grains before adding it to his food!! She even eluded to a resident Ghost who showed up now & again! As I looked around this 150 year old house, I could imagine being snowed in for months at a time with nothing to do but stay warm & stay alive, or spending hot summer days inside, not wanting to open the windows for fear of letting in hoards of hungry mosquitos!!
I enjoyed the creaky floors, the rough cut wooden wall paneling, the smells permeating the old house after 150 years, lots of Ghosts here, lots of memories.
As you leave the house, it's a short walk down to what was at one time, the Ferry launch. It's long since gone now, replaced years ago by the modern bridge a few miles up the road but you can still make out the impression where the dock would have been. Looking across the river, you could just barely make out the landing & the overgrown remnants of an old road winding it's way up from the river. Somewhere, there's a plaque with the names of the men who ran the Ferry over the years. So ends our tour. The volunteers do a great job of explaining the history of this old place & I appreciate their enthusiasm, their humour & their interest in history...... after all, it doesn't pay well!!
As you leave the house, it's a short walk down to what was at one time, the Ferry launch. It's long since gone now, replaced years ago by the modern bridge a few miles up the road but you can still make out the impression where the dock would have been. Looking across the river, you could just barely make out the landing & the overgrown remnants of an old road winding it's way up from the river. Somewhere, there's a plaque with the names of the men who ran the Ferry over the years. So ends our tour. The volunteers do a great job of explaining the history of this old place & I appreciate their enthusiasm, their humour & their interest in history...... after all, it doesn't pay well!!
My wife & I returned to the Settlement a week later for their annual Jamboree. Afterwards, we meandered up the rocky, narrow old road to the original Cemetery. As you come to the top of this rather steep hill, it levels off into a flat ridge where you drive up to the loosely chained gate. This is a beautiful but lonely place with the graves of many 1st generation settlers, pioneers & many young children. It was a Smallpox epidemic which swept through the little settlement that took the lives of George McDougall's 2 daughters aged 11 years & 19 years old. Their graves rest below this lonely place, closer to the banks of the river in a family plot. We tend to romanticise these old times but in reality, life was very hard & sometimes the loss was great! I'm sure many others lost loved ones as this epidemic swept through the settlement.
Even so, sitting up here on this lonely ridge brings a strange sense of peacefullness, it's so calm & there are no more tears here, only rest. We feast on wild strawberries & Saskatoon berries growing along the edges of the graveyard & I'm happy to be alive, if just for a short fleeting moment in the grand scheme of things!
After spending time in this special place, we descended the rocky hill & paid a visit to the McDougall family plot. The oldest person buried here is 23.
From here we drove past the turnoff to the Ferry landing & continue on till we run across some old Ghost houses along the river road. There is a hewn log cabin called The Free Trader's House which is believed to have been built in 1874. It has been restored & looks like it's waiting to be set on a foundation. There are more houses along this road in various states of disrepair, slowly succumbing to the elements.... there's such rich history here, one could spend days exploring this place. All along the river side of this old road is thick with Saskatoon berries, a delicacy even 150 years ago I'm sure!
After spending time in this special place, we descended the rocky hill & paid a visit to the McDougall family plot. The oldest person buried here is 23.
From here we drove past the turnoff to the Ferry landing & continue on till we run across some old Ghost houses along the river road. There is a hewn log cabin called The Free Trader's House which is believed to have been built in 1874. It has been restored & looks like it's waiting to be set on a foundation. There are more houses along this road in various states of disrepair, slowly succumbing to the elements.... there's such rich history here, one could spend days exploring this place. All along the river side of this old road is thick with Saskatoon berries, a delicacy even 150 years ago I'm sure!
Even though the clouds had threatened to open up all day long, we remained dry till it was time to leave this special place. They hold many events here during the summer months such as July's Jamboree & August's Field & Fort day complete with musket shooting demonstrations.
If you find yourself with a free weekend in the summer months, I highly recommend a visit to Victoria Settlement! It's less than half the cost of a movie & you'll enjoy it immensely!
There's also a Facebook page with some great information, facts, dates of upcoming functions etc.. Just type in Victoria Settlement!
James.
If you find yourself with a free weekend in the summer months, I highly recommend a visit to Victoria Settlement! It's less than half the cost of a movie & you'll enjoy it immensely!
There's also a Facebook page with some great information, facts, dates of upcoming functions etc.. Just type in Victoria Settlement!
James.