Rich in history, stories include First Nations campsites and kill sites from about 5,500 years ago – the most recent kill site – about 300 years old.

The potato famine chased John Glenn from Ireland in 1849. He landed in Texas, where he was drafted by the Confederate Army, then court marshalled on disobedience orders (found not guilty) because he didn’t like what the South stood for, therefore changed his allegiance to the North. After the war, via California and Montana, while mining in British Columbia, Glenn ran into Sanford Fleming whose expedition searched for a route for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Glenn and his wife Adelaide Belcourt (a Metis woman from the Edmonton area) ventured to Fish Creek with two horses and a mule in 1873. His nine-acre farm yielded barley, oats, and hay. He built Southern Alberta’s first irrigation system and supplied water to his neighbour Samuel Shaw, who owned a woolen mill (the area’s first industry).

While he didn’t actually own the land, Glenn sold his parcel to the government, which set up Indian Supply Farm No. 24, which taught farming skills to people of First Nations, thus implementing the articles of Treaty 7.

The supply farm was partially sold to Theodore Robitaille, lieutenant governor of Quebec. Although no money changed hands on the purchase, he planned to turn it over to make a profit, but the Calgary real estate market crashed, so he rented it out to John Lineham (Lynam) – one of the founding fathers of Okotoks. Robitaille then leased the land to William Roper Hull and his brother John in 1887 then sold it to them.

The Hulls worked a horse farm in Kamloops, where John also opened up a butcher shop. The brothers bought the land to feed their cattle. The Hull brothers then drove 1,200 head in the largest horse drive in Canadian history, through Crowsnest Pass to Fort McLeod. There they sold off their stock to the Northwest Mounted Police and other stock firms. William opened up another butcher shop and supplied meat to the CPR, who in turn fed B.C. construction crews.

Pat Burns, one of Calgary’s famous ‘Big Four’, purchased much of the property from Hull and turned it into a real working ranch. Burns was a character, so much that Grant MacEwan wrote a book about him (Pat Burns – Cattle King, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, 1979). The Burns family owned the land for a long time, although nobody actually lived there from the family. 

The Ranche House (now an upscale restaurant) replaced the Supply Farm house, which burned down in 1894.

Fish Creek’s history is so extensive, there are many more stories available through the Park office or through the Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society.

AFTER THE FLOOD
WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE – flooding pathways, destroying bridges, leaving sediment, chasing away wildlife. In 2005, water changed the face of North America’s largest urban park: Fish Creek Provincial Park.

One of the biggest impacts of the 2005 flood was how the creek itself changed. Fish Creek was a small prairie stream with very slow moving water, most of the time bordered with lots of vegetation along the banks.

Now, there is rock piled along the side, sandbars that weren’t there before, and many lost banks. The creek itself is smaller but more powerful with rapids and fast moving water. Fish Creek is now a mountain stream.
The flood also impacted wildlife, particularly the ducks that were nesting. Some lost their young.

But according to Fish Creek Provincial Park’s Urban Planner Specialist, Wayne Meikle, the effect of the flood wasn’t all negative. “We did lose bridges and pathways; it put a lot of sediment in areas of growth and vegetation; but it actually made the habitat better for fish.” And the beavers have already come back. There is still a lot of wildlife in the park. 

Significant trails, and bridges, were lost. It will take about 7.5 million dollars to fix everything.   

“The bridges will impact how we rebuild by the size of the creek,” adds Meikle. “We can’t just put our old bridges back in. The standards have changed. The original bridges were put in the mid seventies. We’ll also look at putting our pathways in better locations.”

They didn’t lose any buildings, just bridges. Some of the pathways were hard enough to endure the flood. Meikle sees this as a good opportunity to look at restructuring them.

“When the pathways were originally planned, it was in the 1970s. We now have the city completely around the park.” They can evaluate how the city is developing its pathways and look at hooking in.”

The reconstruction plan will consider the next 25 years. This summer will see major construction, but the park will still be open. Details of the plan will be presented to the public in February. After that, it is hoped that repairs will take just a couple of years to complete. 

Fish Creek Provincial Park is actually better now for fishing. There are new places for people to look for and enjoy. Yes, we all had our favorite spots, and some of those spots are gone, but some are still here.

However, many are always looking for new spots anyway. The creek has changed a lot and some will love the sandbars. Just re-explore and find a new place to enjoy. After all, it is still a special place.   NL