Fort Assiniboine | |
|---|---|
 Skyline and theAthabasca River | |
| Coordinates:54°20′03″N114°46′29″W / 54.3342°N 114.7747°W /54.3342; -114.7747 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Alberta |
| Region | Northern Alberta |
| Planning region | Upper Athabasca |
| Municipal district | Woodlands |
| Government | |
| • Type | Unincorporated |
| • Governing body | Woodlands County Council |
| Area (2021)[1] | |
| • Land | 0.75 km2 (0.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
• Total | 158 |
| • Density | 212/km2 (550/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| Fort Assiniboine | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Fort |
| Location | Barrhead,Alberta,Canada |
| Nearest city | Edmonton |
| Elevation | 604 m (1,982 ft) |
| Governing body | Woodlands County Council |
Fort Assiniboine is ahamlet in northwestAlberta, Canada, withinWoodlands County.[2] It is located along the north shore of theAthabasca River at the junction ofHighway 33 andHighway 661. It is approximately 39 kilometres (24 mi) northwest ofBarrhead, 62 kilometres (39 mi) southeast ofSwan Hills and 91 kilometres (57 mi) northeast ofWhitecourt.
Fort Assiniboine was founded as a trading post by theHudson's Bay Company and became a stopping point along theKlondike Trail. It gets its name from theAssiniboine people. The fort itself no longer exists, but the land on which it stood is designated as aNational Historic Site for its archaeological value.[3] The hamlet, built on and around the site of the fort, is a now a local hub for the surrounding agricultural region.
Local oral history tells of an early (possibly late 1700s)North West Company fur trading post south ofHolmes Crossing (an early ferry crossing) on the Athabasca River.[4] In 1821, the North West Company was merged withHudson's Bay Company (HBC), who then undertook to reorganize its transportation routes, seeking out advantages and efficiencies in its operations. By then, trade onLesser Slave Lake was in decline and the council adopted a resolution in 1823 calling for a fort further up theAthabasca River to reduce transport times. Under the new plan, Fort Assiniboine on the Athabasca River (the fort was originally named 'Athabaska River House'[5]) opened in 1824.[4][5]
It became the northwest end of an overland 130-kilometre (80 mi) horse track toEdmonton House/Fort Edmonton, cut by Jacques Cardinal, aMétis free trader, in 1824–25. The trail became known as 'The Hudson's Bay Packtrail'.
The trail shortened the distance fromJasper House and theAthabasca Pass within theRocky Mountains, to Fort Edmonton and thence toYork Factory on theHudson Bay. A party on horseback could make the trip from Edmonton to Fort Assiniboine in two to six days, depending on conditions.[6]
The new route was used by theYork Factory Express. The old canoe route involved going far north-northeast down the Athabasca toFort Chipewyan and then southeast throughMethye Portage to Lake Winnipeg.
Though the fort never grew as large as some other Alberta forts, its role as a transportation hub and provision centre ensured its survival between the 1820s and 1880s.[7] The fort burned to the ground after its abandonment by the HBC.[3] No plans existed for its original layout, but, using clues from post administrators' log books and archaeological surveys, a replica was built on the site in 1980. It operates as a museum and friendship centre.[8]
In 1898, when the Chalmers, orKlondike Trail was cut through the Swan Hills, northwest of Fort Assiniboine to Lesser Slave Lake, the location again became a stopping point, with gold seekers crossing the river with a self-service ferry on their overland trek to theYukon.[9][10]
The earliest homesteads in the area were filed in 1906 in the Holmes Crossing district (named for the ferryman William B. Holmes), across the Athabasca and downriver from Fort Assiniboine. Most came via Edmonton, by way of the Hudson's Bay Pack Trail, which had been widened by then to accommodate wagons and sleighs. The graded road only went to about 16 km (10 mi) west ofMorinville. By 1908 settlers crossed on the ferry and took up land north of the Athabasca River, including around the site of the old fort. The Fort Assiniboine post office was set up in 1910, operated, as was the practice, from a local homestead. Joseph Brewster was the firstpostmaster. Ablacksmith's shop, and a store were soon built near the fort site. In 1914, the railway was built toWestlock, shortening the route on the trail significantly.[4]
The firstcommunity hall was built in 1916. By 1919, the road was graded to Holmes Crossing. The next year, on the north side of the river, a road was graded from the ferry landing, to a bridge on the Freeman River west of Fort Assiniboine. In 1922, the post office was moved to the settlement. The quarter-section of land on which the trading post had been situated had been homesteaded by a Dr. E.J. State in 1913. When he died in 1923, his property was willed to theUniversity of Alberta, who surveyed and sold the lots, expanding the hamlet.
In 1927 a railway line was built to Barrhead, 40 kilometres (25 mi) away.[4]
In 1934 the provincial government set up a public nursing service in the hamlet, which operated until 1969. The surrounding schools were centralized to Fort Assiniboine in 1946, and in the same year a charter was issued for a Fort Assiniboine Branch of theRoyal Canadian Legion. AUnited Church and aRoman Catholic Church were built in 1948 and 1949. Thecurling club was formed and a rink built in 1953. In 1956 a bridge was built over the Athabasca River, putting the ferry out of business.[4]
Fort Assiniboine was ahamlet until incorporated as avillage in 1958. E.M. (Gene) Redington was the first mayor. The Village of Fort Assiniboine dissolved and reverted to hamlet status on December 31, 1991. It is now administered by Woodlands County, which has offices in the hamlet and inWhitecourt.
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Fort Assiniboine had a population of 158 living in 64 of its 74 total private dwellings, a change of-10.2% from its 2016 population of 176. With a land area of 0.75 km2 (0.29 sq mi), it had a population density of210.7/km2 (545.6/sq mi) in 2021.[1]
As a designated place in the2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Fort Assiniboine had a population of 176 living in 78 of its 83 total private dwellings, a change of13.5% from its 2011 population of 155. With a land area of 0.73 km2 (0.28 sq mi), it had a population density of241.1/km2 (624.4/sq mi) in 2016.[11]
Fort Assiniboine is home to a Hudson's Bay–style historical museum, known as the Fort Assiniboine Museum and Friendship Club Drop-In Centre, and the world's largest wagon wheel and pick axe.[12] A boat launch east of the hamlet provides river-boaters access to the Athabasca River. There is also a private R.V. park and marina, which hosted the Athabasca River Voyageur Canoe Brigade[13] in June 2017, celebrating Canada's 150th birthday.[14][15] A farmer's market is held every Friday afternoon from May to September[16] in the Recreation and Agriculture Building, which also hosts agricultural and sports events throughout the year including the annual Hamlet Hoedown Rodeo & Fair, held each August.[17]
The Fort Assiniboine School, which offers kindergarten through Grade 9, is located within the hamlet.[18] Students in Grades 10-12 are bussed to Barrhead Composite High School.[19] Both are administered byPembina Hills Public Schools (PHPS).[20] Fort Assiniboine is also served by a post office and the Fort Assiniboine Public Library.[21] It has numerous businesses including a general store, a motel, a gas station, a liquor store and a shop that repairs and sells all-terrain and other vehicles.
Fort Assiniboine had asubarctic climate (KöppenDfc), characterized by pleasant summers and frigid, although extremely variable, winters.
| Climate data for Fort Assiniboine | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) | 17.0 (62.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 29.5 (85.1) | 34.0 (93.2) | 33.3 (91.9) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.0 (91.4) | 33.0 (91.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 18.5 (65.3) | 13.3 (55.9) | 34.0 (93.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.2 (17.2) | −3.3 (26.1) | 2.9 (37.2) | 11.3 (52.3) | 17.5 (63.5) | 20.7 (69.3) | 22.5 (72.5) | 21.4 (70.5) | 16.1 (61.0) | 10.4 (50.7) | −1.1 (30.0) | −7.7 (18.1) | 8.5 (47.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −14.8 (5.4) | −10.8 (12.6) | −4.2 (24.4) | 3.7 (38.7) | 9.7 (49.5) | 13.5 (56.3) | 15.6 (60.1) | 14.4 (57.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 3.4 (38.1) | −6.7 (19.9) | −13.9 (7.0) | 1.6 (34.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −21.4 (−6.5) | −18.2 (−0.8) | −11.3 (11.7) | −3.9 (25.0) | 1.9 (35.4) | 6.3 (43.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 7.4 (45.3) | 2.1 (35.8) | −3.5 (25.7) | −12.3 (9.9) | −20 (−4) | −5.4 (22.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −48 (−54) | −47 (−53) | −38.9 (−38.0) | −30 (−22) | −8.5 (16.7) | −2.8 (27.0) | 1.7 (35.1) | −4 (25) | −11 (12) | −30 (−22) | −38.3 (−36.9) | −46 (−51) | −48 (−54) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 18.6 (0.73) | 15.5 (0.61) | 16.1 (0.63) | 24.0 (0.94) | 48.9 (1.93) | 105.3 (4.15) | 118.7 (4.67) | 83.2 (3.28) | 44.0 (1.73) | 16.9 (0.67) | 18.6 (0.73) | 23.4 (0.92) | 533.2 (20.99) |
| Source:Environment Canada[22] | |||||||||||||
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