History of Edson and Area

1. Planting a Flag in the
Muskeg
Exploring Early
Edson and Area
History

2. What’s in a name?
TETE JAUNE
Given the many similarities in names and even nicknames in the
fur trade, and the inevitable gaps in the surviving historical
documents, figuring out whether or not a fellow from Red River
and a chap working in the Rocky Mountains are the same man
can be infuriatingly inconclusive.”

3. Tete Jaune was an Iroquois, one of many who had been brought
out West by the North West Company, and to a lesser extent the
Hudson’s Bay Company, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
The North West Company hired Iroquois to act as voyageurs and
as hunters and trappers in the newly opened-up areas of the West.
Though most Iroquois returned east at the expiration of their
contracts, a great many chose to stay.

4. After 1822 Tête Jaune and his brother Baptiste, who apparently travelled and lived together in the
1820s, faded from view for the next few years. They reappeared in Hudson’s Bay Company records in
1825, when they once again required a guide over the little-known route through the Rockies.

5. Although situated at one of the greatest natural crossroads in BC, situated on the Fraser River
in the Robson Valley, the town of Tete Jaune Cache is long abandon and is now a name
to conjure only memories.

6. And an excellent volunteer –
managed cross-country skiing
forest recreation area all have in
common?
A Great Place
to Ski
A Campground
And a provincial recreation area
in Yellowhead County and …
What does a Royal North West
Mounted Police report by
Constable Hubert Shand in1907
have in common with …
A Police Report
The Sad Story of Hornbeck

7. We had a distance of about 10 miles to make (from a Grand
Trunk Pacific survey camp up to the McLeod River), but owing
to the depth of the snow — which I should judge would be
about three feet deep — and the nature of the country we had
to cross, i.e., muskeg, which had apparently not frozen solid
under the snow, as the horses were constantly breaking clean
through, this short distance took us four and a half days.
Constable Hubert Shand
Next day I went to Hornbeck's shack, which was in a state of chaos, all sorts of
goods having been thrown in the fire like cartridges, rifles, tools, pots and pans. I
took a list of all available property of the deceased, and took it up to the store of
Berthou, and left instructions with a freighter who is going up there very shortly to
bring these goods as far as Lac St. Anne.
A rough trip from Edmonton

8. Hornbeck Creek
Hornbeck Creek Provincial Recreation
Campground.
There is also an unincorporated Hamlet
of Hornbeck by Bikerdike.
Hornbeck Cross County
Skiing Forest Recreation
Area
Home of 30 kilometres of groomed trails.
Bearing the Hornbeck Name

9. The lure of a transcontinental railway and the expensive duplication of a dream
Rival Railways Race to the West Coast

10. GTP pledge from 1907
Charles Melville Hays William Mackenzie Donald Mann
Rival Railways Race to the West Coast
I will railroad according to the book of rules. I will do all in my power to guard against unsafe acts on my
part. If I see a fellow employee doing his work in an unsafe manner, I will speak to him as a friend, and
use my moral influence to have him perform his duties in the safest possible manner. I will remember
and practice at all times SAFETY FIRST.

11. Public Funds
$298,253,263 60.3%
Private Investment
$196,509,226 39.7%
Canadian Northern Funding
Dominion Government $100,027,897
Provincial Governments $13,864,774
Grand Trunk Railway $106,871,929
Total Debt: $220,764,600
Grand Trunk Pacific Debt 1915
Through Hell’s Gate Canyon costs
soared to $350,000 per mile.
Total costs were nearly three times
the $50 million estimate.
Canadian Northern
Mountain section cost
(from Wolf Creek to Prince Rupert)
$30,000 - $100,000 per mile of track
Grand Trunk Pacific
The first fruit of freedom usually is folly…
The Canadian Railway Problem

12. 1907
Wolf Creek Beginnings
Supply camps were set
up along the surveyed
GTP line where major
construction camps would
be needed.
1908
Building West
Wolf Creek became a
thriving community of
2000 at the end of steel
as the bridge was being
built.
1910
The End of Steel
The GTP Wolf Creek
Flier could ‘speed’ over
the 126 miles between
Edmonton and Wolf
Creek in only 36 hours.
1911
A Nomadic Population
[They] never gets left far
behind. The ‘end-of-steelers’
… seem to delight in clinging
to the fringe of civilization and
hovering on the border of the
unknown country beyond.

13. Even before the railroad steel pushed
into Edson, construction crews were
working furiously on one of the big
obstacles between here and the
mountains – that of the gorge of the
Sundance Creek where it flows into
the McLeod River. The large swirling
eddy thus created lent its name to the
trestle that would span it. The Big
Eddy bridge.
Do you know where the
Term ‘Big Eddy’ comes from?
We had passed freighters toiling wearily along in the mud, slime and water, with the massive baulks of wood and here we saw these
squared tree trunks being fitted and fixed together as tightly as iron dogs could grip them, while lying in a prone position. When all was
ready, a hook and cable were attached to the top side, a mighty pull was given by the steam engine, and lo! The section stood upright….
One could see the labyrinth of timber actually growing. – The New Garden of Canada
The Big Eddy Bridge - 1910

14. "Before I retired," said Colonel Gracie, "I had a
long chat with Charles M. Hays, President of
the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad. One of the
last things Mr. Hays was this: "The White Star,
the Cunard, and Hamburg-American Lines are
devoting their attention and ingenuity in vying
with one another to attain the supremacy in
luxurious ships and in making speed
records. The time will come soon when this
will be checked by some appalling
disaster." Poor fellow, a few hours later he
was dead."
Down with the ship
When the White Star Liner Titanic
struck an iceberg, it is feared
Charles Melville Hays, president
and general manager of the
Grand Trunk Railway and the
Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad was
carried down with the doomed
steamer.� Mr. Hays had been in
England for some time, securing
loans to carry on the construction
work on the Grand Trunk Pacific
Railroad.

15. 1852-1924
Edson Joseph Chamberlin
Chamberlin’s harsh criticism of the
assistance given the Canadian Northern,
his inflammatory rhetoric, and his
vehement defence of GTR policies based
on excessively optimistic projections of
western development antagonized the
commissioners, and key politicians and
government officials as well
The government decided in June to
nationalize the Canadian Northern and to
give $7.5 million to the GTP, a move that
was tantamount to taking over the Grand
Trunk system. Complicated and messy, this
transfer would take another two years to
accomplish, but it was clear that the GTR
and its president had lost the battle. Elderly,
angry, and in poor health, Chamberlin
resigned on 29 Aug. 1917.
Chamberlin spent the last years of his life
in declining health in Pasadena, where he
died in 1924. A Canadian Press dispatch
announcing his death described him as
“one of the most competent and successful
railwaymen in the Dominion.” Historians
have rendered a much harsher judgement
on his career.
After bringing a petition against the postmaster, Heatherwood officially changed its name
to Edson to honor the Vice President of the Grand Trunk Railroad Edson Joseph
Chamberlin. There was some concern around confusion with the town of Edison Alberta
but the government still endorsed the change stating that “Edison was an unimportant
place and their name could be changed (Edison was renamed ‘Clyde’) and the
inventors could be honored on some other line in Alberta or Saskatchewan.

16. At any time during the
years when the GTP
was building west from
Edmonton, rarely less
that 2000 men were
employed somewhere
along the grade.
The men were shipped
from Edmonton in
battered old railway
cars - with 70 to 80
men per car.
Planting Their Flag in the Muskeg

17. The GTP Station Track side
The station was much more imposing building then than the present day facility. There was a busy yard behind the station
and featured the superintendent’s big house and yard .There was also a spruce tree enclosed area that was a well-used
tennis court. – Edson Leader

20. Gateway to the
‘Last Best West’
…[the trail was] so bad that she walked to
Sturgeon Lake and they had to ‘block and tackle’
out of many mud holes, once for a stretch of a mile
and a half. Often when the oxen were tired they
would just bog down in a mud hole. The Jebbs
would unhitch there and camp for the night,
perhaps walking up the trail a piece to get beyond
the smell of dead carcasses. They slept on the
wagon or on spruce boughs on the ground.

21. Several upsets occurred during the trip, the worst when descending
Breakneck Hill in morning. The caboose tipped, sending water, flour,
coffee and ashes from the stove cascading over the interior. Although
the young children had just started to dress, they had to go outside
while the sleigh was righted… Extreme cold struck when they left the
Little Smoky River to cross Sturgeon Lake. Sixteen of their chickens
and a thirty-seven pound gobbler froze. But another party lost a team of
horses which died in harness from the severe cold in their lungs.

22. Edson vs Tollerton
In 1917, a decision was made to close the
Canadian Northern Railway line in favour of
the GTP through Edson to the north,
resulting in the demise of Tollerton.
Subsequently, the community dissolved
from village status on January 26, 1918.
Tollerton was established as a division point
along the Canadian Northern Railway. Its
rail facilities included a train station, a
timber water tank, an ice house, a bunk
house, a steam-heated engine house, and
three rail sidings with capacity to hold 249
cars.

23. Edson goes to War
On August 4th, 1914 the United Kingdom declared war on Germany
on behalf of the British Empire, including Canada.
The First World War had begun.
The Great War, was a period which tested the province’s strength
and demonstrated its resilience.
In August 1914, communities across Canada prepared to serve,
organizing the people and resources that would be needed to
assist the allied forces in victory.
Canada was thrust into a situation that required everyone to help
the war effort and Albertans responded without hesitation.

24. Wild Western Roots

25. Booze, bootleggers, gamblers and crooks of all kinds generally follow
the construction gangs and the steel in heralding the advent of
civilization into virgin western Canadian territory.
They make a lively company and a rather noisy and unruly one at
times. They rule supreme for a little while, their chief occupation being
that of coating the neighbourhood in the brightest vermillion.
Then all of a sudden the scene changes. Enter the Mounted Police representing law
and order and public safety. Exit the villains.
Once the Royal North-West Mounted Police appear in a district, it means that the
stern hand of the law is there to stay. – Inspector C.C. Raven NWMP
Facts and
Fancies About
Men Who are
Making Edson

27. The RAID!
Another infamous resident, John L’Heureux,
boasted moonshine that was famous
throughout the Coal Branch, and even after the
Prohibition ended in 1923 people continued to
buy his illegal liquor. Although L’Heureux’s
moonshine business began shortly after his
arrival in Alberta (it was up and running during
the days of his restaurant), it didn’t become a
primary source of income until several years
later. Mamie began to lose her eyesight, and as
a result the couple’s restaurant was forced to
close soon after. They relocated to a home in
the Weald area, and the bootlegging business
began in earnest.

29. The Alberta Coal Branch
From 1922 to 1926, the Coal Branch mines produced 2.5 million tons of bituminous coal and 1.9
million tons of sub-bituminous coal (27% and 84% of the provincial sum, respectively). During the
height of the Coal Branch’s success, it was responsible for about 22% of Alberta’s total coal
production.

30. Petition
On April 25, 1947, a brief signed by over 100 communities from
Manitoba to the Pacific Coast, organizations, and business leaders,
was presented to the Federal Government, with copies to the
western provincial governments. The brief stated the urgent need for
a Trans-Canada Highway System for strategic and commercial
reasons, and noted that any future planning of this System must
include the Yellowhead.

31. 1913
Railway track is laid
through Yellowhead
Pass.
1923
The Grand Trunk Pacific becomes part of
Canadian National Railways. Canadian
Northern had been absorbed by Canadian
National in 1917. The CNR would continue
to operate this national railway through
Yellowhead Pass from that day forward.
1970
The Yellowhead Inter-
Provincial Highway is
officially opened. It would
later be known as the
Trans-Canada Yellowhead
Highway 16.

32. In 1957 the new Town Hall was built, which included the Town offices, library,
police department and the Edson Health Unit.
Progress!