Jasper National Park

The Fur Trade

© National Archives of Canada

Fur-trade Milestones

1810      David Thompson, an explorer and map maker for the North West Company, heads north from Rocky Mountain House after Peigan Natives stop him from using Howse Pass to cross into the BC interior.

January 10, 1811   David Thompson, led by Thomas the Iroquois, crosses the Athabasca Pass and overwinters at Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.  He reaches the Pacific Coast in July, but the  Pacific Trading Company has already claimed the mouth of the Columbia and built Fort Astoria.

1817 Jasper Hawes of the North West Company takes charge of Rocky Mountain House. It soon becomes known as Jasper's House, then Jasper House.1821 The North West Company merges with the Hudson's Bay Company. 1824 The Hudson's Bay Company's new governor, Sir George Simpson, crosses Athabasca Pass. He names the middle of the three lakes in the pass area 'The Committee Punch Bowl', and shares a round of wine with his men. It becomes a tradition to drink 'a toast to their honours' at the site.1824 Simpson tells Joseph Larocque to build a new trading post at Yellowhead Pass. Larocque sets out to do so but encounters difficulties and builds near present-day Jasper townsite instead.1826 Leather goods begin moving over Yellowhead Pass, destined for New Caledonia. The pass becomes known as Leather Pass for a short time. Leather shipments across the pass are discontinued by 1830.1829 Jasper House is moved to the eastern end of Jasper Lake, about 36 km east of Jasper townsite.1835 Colin Fraser, George Simpson's personal piper, is placed in charge of Jasper House (the Colin Range was named after him).1869 The Hudson's Bay Company cedes control of a large chunk of western and northern Canada (Rupert's Land) to the Dominion Government.

1884 After several temporary closures, Jasper House is abandoned for good as the fur trade declines.

Jasper National Park

The Railway

© Canadian National Railway

Railway Milestones

1872 Walter Moberly begins a survey of the route through the Yellowhead Corridor and builds a provision depot on the banks of the Athabasca.1875 Surveyor Henry McLeod bushwhacks his way up Maligne Valley, sizing it up for a rail line southeast. His feelings about the route are reflected in the name he chooses for present-day Maligne Lake: Sorefoot Lake.1876 Railway engineer Sir Sandford Fleming compares six possible rail routes through the Rockies; he finally recommends Yellowhead Pass.1881 The new Canadian Pacific Railway Company spurns Fleming's advice and opts for Kicking Horse Pass farther south. All railway activity in the Yellowhead area ceases for nearly 30 years.1885 Banff National Park is founded.1906 Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern, both planning rail lines to the coast, lobby for the right to build through the Yellowhead. Both receive the government's go-ahead. Permission for Canadian Northern is withdrawn for a time, then granted anew.1908 Survey parties working for the two companies in Yellowhead Pass sabotage each other's efforts by pulling survey stakes. Rancher Lewis Swift holds off railway workers at gunpoint until survey crews come back to re-stake Grand Trunk Pacific line; it had initially been run right through his cabin.1910 Work begins at the Pocahontas coal mine, two years after a claim is staked. Once tracks reach Pocahontas in 1911, the town thrives. Poor coal markets catch up with Pocahontas in 1921 when Jasper Park Collieries goes bankrupt. The community dissolves shortly afterwards.1911 Grand Trunk Pacific steel reaches Fitzhugh (now Jasper) from Edmonton. Fitzhugh expands from a construction camp to a station and divisional point, complete with hospital and tent hotel.1912 The Grand Truck Pacific officially opens a line from Edmonton to Fitzhugh.1913 Canadian Northern steel reaches Lucerne, west of the Yellowhead Pass. Lucerne becomes Canadian Northern's divisional point. The town of Fitzhugh is renamed as Jasper.1915 The Canadian Northern line officially opens.1916 The First World War heightens; some rails through the park are torn up and sent to France. The two lines are consolidated, leaving much empty railbed and partially isolating the Pocahontas coal mine.1921 The money-losing Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific go under, are taken over by the government and become part of the crown-owned Canadian National Railways (CNR). The Canadian Northern division point located at Lucerne is transferred to Jasper. Some Pocahontas buildings are also moved to Jasper. Opposition surfaces to the concept of basing commercial ventures such as railways in a national park.

 

Jasper National Park

History of the National Park

© Parks Canada/JNP

 

The first national parks in Canada were established primarily as money-making enterprises. The parks and their spectacular natural settings were seen as lures to the rich that would increase use of the passenger trains and inspire economic development in the farthest reaches of a young, growing nation. In 1885, the same year as the completion of the transcontinental railway, this philosophy made its first appearance with the creation of a small reserve around the hot sulphur springs in Banff, which were viewed as having medicinal properties and therefore had become an attraction to many ailing people. The government of the day perceived the economic advantages of retaining control of such a resource, rather than turning ownership over to private enterprise. The legislation that decreed the existence of Rocky Mountains Park ensured that the springs remained in public hands.

The protection of the hot springs soon led to the establishment of several other parks, mostly in the southern mountains of western Canada. The impetus behind each designation was the potential economic advantage to be achieved by developing such parks.

In 1907, when it became apparent that two transcontinental railways would soon pass through the Athabasca Valley, members of Parliament legislated into being a forest reserve of 13,000 km2, which encompassed the more northerly mountains of that region. On Sept. 14, 1907, Jasper Forest Reserve was born

... for the preservation of forest trees on the crests and slopes of the Rocky Mountains and for the proper maintenance throughout the year of the volume of water in the rivers and streams that have their source in the mountains and traverse the province of Alberta.

However, the park was soon on the verge of being dramatically downsized to 2590 km². The original legislation establishing the park was repealed and newly drawn boundaries left out Maligne Lake, Mt. Edith Cavell, and the Athabasca and Sunwapta watersheds. Much protest ensued and the boundaries were redrawn to include 11,396 km², which was most of the park's former range.

Acting to ensure future protection of the water supply represented a departure from previous philosophy, since it meant the creation of a vast conservation area rather than an area of focused tourism development. Here in Jasper, resources would be protected from undue exploitation.

In 1909, when word reached Ottawa that hot springs had been found in the Fiddle Valley not far from the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway main line, tourism regained centre stage. Visions of a 'northern Banff' prompted federal officials to begin planning for the reserve's development.

The possibilities were confirmed when R.H. Campbell, superintendent of forestry, and Howard Douglas, chief commissioner of Dominion Parks, made a pack trip from Banff to Miette Hotsprings later that year. Their investigations convinced them of the region's potential.

During this visit, Campbell and Douglas also became aware of the presence of squatters in the Athabasca Valley. Quickly, they took steps to remove them. The hundred or so aboriginal settlers were simply escorted out of the park, since they had never established permanent dwelling sites. Metis squatters were not allowed to stay, but they were paid in cash for their homesteads and resettled on free land outside the park.

Lewis Swift, the only settler who had filed a claim to his land, refused to leave. A court ruling upheld his contention that since he had previously filed for title he was not a squatter. He could not be evicted, and he refused to sell. Swift's property became the only freehold land within the boundaries of the new park.

Park administrators engaged Swift and two others as game guardians to ensure that those who had been forced out did not return and hunt wildlife in the valley. The three guardians also kept watch on the activities of the railway construction crews who were just then starting work in the valley.

During 1911, surveyors, clearing and blasting crews, track-layers and trestle-builders pushed westward through the park, preparing railbed and tracks. Between 500 and 2750 railway workers lived in construction camps, built along the line every 10 to 12 km.

After the end-of-steel passed their camp, the men would move on, leaving behind the rough-hewn log bunkhouses they had briefly inhabited. Newly arrived park employees used a few for short periods until they could arrange something better. Most were left empty, the decaying symbols of a mobile population that had come and gone.

Jasper was primarily a railway town, but administering it fell to the responsibility of the park's superintendent, Col. Maynard S. Rogers, who leased to the railway company sufficient land for its yards and station.

Under Rogers' direction, leases for commercial and residential establishments were surveyed and a system of streets was laid out. A combined park headquarters and residence made of fieldstone and logs was built in the central core. Other public buildings followed, including a post office, firehall, community hall, school and churches.

Despite this emergence of civilization in the Athabasca wilderness, it would be several years before all amenities were available. By the time of World War I, the streets remained unpaved, while services such as water and electrical systems, sewage disposal and garbage collection were nowhere in sight. The railway provided the only link with the outside world.

Jasper Park Collieries came into being in 1908, after two prospectors staked claims at the foot of Roche Miette. Within two years, this American-owned company began construction of a major mining operation. Named Pocahontas after a successful mine in the eastern United States, this site produced good-quality bituminous coal which fueled the railway's steam engines and was needed by the nation's developing industries.

In the pattern of other coal-mining communities, the mine's offices, plant and machinery were situated at the base of the hill, while the residential area was located on the terrace above. Residents of Pocahontas were better serviced than the inhabitants of Jasper, upstream on the Athabasca. Water was delivered to taps installed outside every two houses, and the mine's powerhouse generated electricity.

At the time of the Great War, more than 50 families called Pocahontas home. When the war began, Europe's terrible conflict seemed to benefit Pocahontas. Wartime demand for coal spurred production to an all-time high. Responding to demand, the company opened the Miette Mine across the Athabasca River near Bedson Ridge.

Ultimately, though, the war contributed to the little town's doom.

The duplication of rail lines through the Athabasca Valley and over Yellowhead Pass had resulted in losses for both the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern railways. The companies were not able to recoup their huge capital investments. In 1917, the companies merged to form a corporation which eventually became Canadian National Railways, augmented by financial aid from the federal government. To the east of Pocahontas, the tracks of the old Grand Trunk Pacific Railway line were ripped up and shipped to France for use in the war effort. Coal shipments to the east now had to go west to Jasper before returning eastward along the old Canadian Northern line on the north side of the Athabasca River. The additional cost of transport combined with the deteriorating quality of the coal and the increased difficulty of penetrating the thrust-faulted coal beds to force the mine's closure in 1919. Within two years Pocahontas was effectively a ghost town.

For a time the Blue Diamond Mine, which opened in 1916 near Brûlé Lake, fared better. Situated near the main railway line, it operated until 1928, when the effects of post-war recession and mismanagement combined to end coal extraction there.

Coal was not the only resource to be exploited in the early years following the park's creation. A few kilometres to the west of Pocahontas, an Edmonton firm had opened a limestone quarry with the intent of supplying cement to Alberta's construction industry. The start of the Great War forced the firm to abandon its efforts just as the quarry was beginning to produce results.

Another limestone quarry, this one operated by the Edmonton Portland Cement Company, proved to be more viable. When production was at its peak, 40 boxcars of rock were being sent each week to the company's processing plant. The Great Depression ended activity at this site.

Removal of coal and limestone were spurred by commercial interests, but the park's administration initiated exploitation of a third abundant resource on its own. In an effort billed as curtailling the spread of a massive infestation of mistletoe, logging commenced along the middle reaches of the Whirlpool River in 1919. About 300 men were annually employed in the lumber camps. During the next four years, lodgepole pines were cut and floated downstream to a point on the Athabasca River where they could be hauled out. When logging operations ceased, some 500,000 railway ties had been fabricated from the timber removed in this fashion.

The 1920s saw the development of much of the backcountry trail network in the park. Gradually, warden cabins were constructed along these trails at intervals of about 30 km to provide way-stations for mounted patrols.

Mining in the park ended in the 1920s. In 1921 the mine at Pocahontas closed. No resource extraction was occurring within the park by 1930, the year that the National Parks Act was proclaimed. The act contained new measures to protect natural resources in the parks. It was a significant change in the philosophy used to manage national parks in Canada and it meant that coal mining, logging and other such activities would no longer have a place. Now considered far-sighted for its time, the Act led the way to the implementation of new approaches and policies that would ensure long-term resource protection while providing for public education, benefit and enjoyment of the parklands.

By the late 1930s the park's direction was well entrenched. Visitor use and benefit, to which the park was given over in earlier days, had been painted in a conservationist hue. Canadians were not to hunt, log, mine, or build dams in their parks. Neither were they to own property or erect 'private monuments' to themselves. But they could develop a tourism industry. Then a war got in the way.

Park-era Milestones

1907 Jasper Forest Park, initially consisting of a 13,000 km² swath of land, is established by the Dominion government.1908 A Philadelphian named Mary Schæffer sets off to reach Maligne Lake from the south. In the east, coal claims are staked, leading to the creation of Jasper Park Collieries and the town of Pocahontas.1909 Donald 'Curly' Phillips becomes one of the park's first outfitters. He guides climbers and hunting expeditions. His first client is Reverend George Kinney, who sets his sights on climbing Mount Robson.1911 Jack, Closson, and Bruce Otto set up an outfitting business in Jasper. The brothers' first client is Mary Schæffer, who surveys Maligne Lake for the Dominion government.1912 The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway proposes two sites for luxury resorts, but neither resort is built because of lack of funds. Jack and Fred Brewster begin outfitting in the park. In the ensuing years, several now-famous park trails are pioneered, including the Skyline and a trail to the Tonquin Valley.1915 Tent City, the first version of Jaspe 1930s the parkpens to domestic and international tourist business. The Brewsters later buy it, and then sell out to the railway.1916 Two hundred Austrian-Canadians are 'interned' (held against their will) in a camp near Jasper, victims of wartime anti-alien hysteria. They are put to work on park labour projects. Within the year, however, they are released to work on the railways, in mines and on farms.1919 The 'one big union' strike hits Pocahontas; miners head for the hills and build Miette Hot Springs' first log hot pool.1921 The park begins to issue automobile permits, spurring bus tours. The push for more roads begins.1922 Two automobiles survive the rigors of Yellowhead Pass and complete a hair-raising trip from Edmonton to Victoria.1925 The golf course, using rich soil stripped from a quarter-section of prairie land bought just for the purpose, is completed at Jasper Park Lodge.1927 The Brewsters build a chalet at Maligne Lake and start guided trips to the area.1928 The road from Edmonton to Jasper is declared open. The road west from Jasper remains little more than a trail.1930 The National Parks Act is passed, outlining the park's mandate, protecting wildlife, prohibiting mining, restricting logging, and updating boundaries.1931 Work on the Banff-Jasper Highway begins. Workers are paid $5 a month plus room and board. Many flock from cities and towns, where unemployment is rife. For six months a year over the next eight years, up to 450 men labor to complete the project.1935 Lewis Swift finally offers his land to the government for $6000, the same amount originally offered to him. But the government is too slow to act. He sells instead to an Englishman who develops a successful dude ranch: The Palisades.1938 A new bathhouse opens at Miette Hotsprings, attracting hundreds.1939 Work on the Jasper-Banff Highway is completed. The roadway opens to tourist traffic the next year but doesn't gain popularity until gas rationing is removed following the World War II.1940 The Columbia Icefield Chalet, owned by the Brewsters, opens, does a solid year of business and then closes because of government-imposed sightseeing restrictions.1941 Conscientious objectors to military service, known as 'conchies', begin work on improving the Maligne Road and others.1942 Two internment camps, each holding 100 Canadians of Japanese descent, are built near Yellowhead Pass. Separated from their families, these men are put to work building the highway between Jasper and Blue River. They receive hostile treatment from paranoid Jasper residents, who begin to arm themselves in a bout of self-righteous fervor. The Japanese-Canadians are moved the same year. 1943 A Scottish regiment of special mountain troops called the Lovat Scouts trains in winter conditions in Jasper. That same year, Operation Habbakuk, a prototype barge of sawdust and ice, is built and tested in secrecy at Patricia Lake. Military command hopes to float such barges as mid-Atlantic airfields. Although shown to be resistant to enemy attack, such ships are never deployed. The test model is abandoned in 1944 and its infrastructure sinks to the bottom of Patricia Lake.

 

A Walk in the Past:
Early Buildings in the Townsite

Some of Jasper's buildings are outstanding examples of the community's early architecture. They are part of the local history and the park's commitment to honouring its cultural resources. Following is a description of some of the historical buildings in the vicinity of the townsite core and Athabasca Park

Jasper Information Centre (500 Connaught Drive)

Jasper's early architectural motif was characterized by tar-paper shacks and canvas tents. When Lt. Col. S. Maynard Rogers arrived in 1913 to become Jasper’s first resident superintendent his first project was the construction of a combined administrative office and superintendent's residence. Beautifully designed, the structure made use of local stone and logs to create a rustic look. Rogers fully expected other structures in the townsite, including homes, to emulate this design; he wanted local buildings to show a harmonious and appropriate appearance.

The facility that Rogers built has housed, at various times, the park administration offices, a library, a fish hatchery (in the basement) and living quarters for the superintendent and his family. As the first major building in the townsite, it helped define the character of Jasper's early development and provided a conspicuous landmark that greeted park visitors upon their arrival by train. You will find this splendid-looking structure located in the centre of town on the north side of Connaught Drive. Today the building serves as the park’s main information centre.

Bank of Commerce (416 Connaught Drive)

Constructed in 1928, this stately stone and stucco building was built as the third site of what was then Jasper's branch of the Imperial Bank of Canada, which opened here in 1914. In 1921, bank manager J.M. Kinnear reported that, although the current population of the community was only 400, he was confident that opening the bank was a wise move: "We are situated in the midst of one of the most beautiful scenic spots in the Dominion if not in the whole world, so it will only be a matter of time until the place becomes sufficiently well known to attract large numbers of visitors." How right he was! The bank is now operated by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the result of a 1961 merger of the Imperial Bank of Canada and the Canadian Bank of Commerce.

Firehall (420 Patricia Street)

The present firehall was constructed in 1936 because, as was said at the time, "...the old one was not keeping up with park surroundings." The ornate drying tower, used to air-dry the fire hoses, contributes to the attractiveness of the building. The Firehall has also served as a home to caretakers and other park staff, as a weather bureau, and as a courtroom. It continues to be the headquarters of the Jasper Volunteer Fire Brigade, as well as the communication centre for Parks Canada and various emergency services.

Railway Station (607 Connaught Drive)

The Railway Station is one of the most visible and well-known structures in the townsite. The present station was constructed in 1925, replacing the original structure which was destroyed by fire. It was designed to complement its surroundings and was "...built with an eye to the needs of the ever-increasing tourist traffic."

The station has an air of tidy formality. It is styled in great part after country-houses built in England just prior to World War I. Not only was the station intended to serve the town, it was also intended to serve the then CN-owned Jasper Park Lodge. The station remains an important stop for transcontinental trains and houses the town's bus station.

Jasper Library (corner of Robson Street and Elm Avenue)

Constructed in 1926, this building was the first Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment quarters built expressly for that purpose within the national park system, and is one of the older RCMP quarters in the country. The RCMP play an important role in the parks as both a police force and a symbol of Canada. The force used this building until 1974, when its offices were relocated to a larger and more modern facility. Extensive remodelling transformed the barracks into its present incarnation as the community library.

Jasper National Park

National Historic Sites

© Parks Canada/JNP

Jasper National Park has five National Historic Sites within its boundaries. Each represents a rich part of our history.

Jasper Information Centre<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O:P> </O:P>

This building is one of the finest and most influential examples of rustic architecture in Canada's national parks. Designed by A.M. Calderon and completed in 1914, it introduced a building tradition based on the use of local construction materials, in this case cobblestone and timber. The facility originally housed park administration offices, a museum, and living quarters for the park superintendent. As the first major building in the townsite, it helped to define the character of Jasper's early development and provided a conspicuous landmark that greeted park visitors upon their arrival by train.<O:P> </O:P>

Jasper House <O:P></O:P>

In 1813 the North West Company built Rocky Mountain House on Brulé Lake as a provision depot for brigades crossing the Athabasca Pass to the Pacific. When Jasper Hawes took command of the post in 1817 it became known as "Jasper's House" to avoid confusion with Rocky Mountain House on the Saskatchewan. The Hudson's Bay Company moved Jasper House upriver to this site in 1829, but by mid-century decreasing traffic over the pass sent the post into decline. When Paul Kane was here in 1846 this was a remote outpost commanded by Colin Fraser, George Simpson's former piper. A half century later Jasper House was finally closed.<O:P> </O:P>

Athabasca Pass<O:P> </O:P>

In January 1811, David Thompson, guided by Thomas the Iroquois, was the first white man to cross the Rockies through this pass. Thence he led his party down the Wood River to the place on the Columbia River later called Boat Encampment. Governor George Simpson subsequently named the small lake at the top of the pass "the Committee's Punch Bowl" - a reference to the London Committee of the Hudson's Bay Company. For almost half a century, the Athabasca Pass was part of the main fur trade route between Canada and the Oregon country.<O:P> </O:P>

The Yellowhead Pass<O:P> </O:P>

This pass was used for brief periods from the mid-1820s to the early 1850s by the Hudson's Bay Company, principally to transport leather, especially moosehides, from the Saskatchewan District to its posts in New Caledonia. It derives its name from Pierre Bostonais, called 'Tête Jaune', an Iroquois freeman active here in the early 19th century. Originally chosen by Sanford Fleming for the CPR, the Yellowhead Pass eventually became part of the Grand Trunk Pacific and Canadian Northern routes (now the CNR), and later still, a major highway crossing of the Rocky Mountains.<O:P> </O:P>

Henry House<O:P> </O:P>

Built by William Henry of the North West Company in 1811 to support David Thompson's exploration of the Athabasca Pass, Henry House stood at the head of navigation on the Athabasca River. When the pass became the principal route to the Pacific this was the staging point where the travellers crossing the mountains changed from water to land transport. In the late 1820s the post was in charge of a trader called Miette, who gave his name to the nearby Miette River. Henry House was closed in the 1830s.<O:P> </O:P>

Persons of National Significance Commemorated in JNP<O:P> </O:P>

David Thompson (1770 - 1857)<O:P> </O:P>

Born in London, Thompson served both the Hudson's Bay Company (1784-1797) and the North West Company (1797-1815) as trader, explorer and surveyor. One of the world's great geographers, he accurately mapped the main travel routes through some1,700,00 square miles of the Canadian and American West, in the process journeying some 50,000 miles by canoe, by horse and on foot. His great map of the West and his Narrative, edited by J.B. Tyrrell for the Champlain Society (1916), are lasting monuments to his genius. He died at Longueuil.<O:P> </O:P>

Arthur Oliver Wheeler (1860 - 1945)<O:P> </O:P>

A pre-eminent topographical surveyor, Wheeler represented British Columbia on the commission which located and marked the boundary with Alberta between 1913 and 1925. His party surveyed and mapped the 1000 km-long mountain section, using photographs taken from high elevations. An established expert in this technique, Wheeler also studied the movement of glaciers along the boundary. In 1906 he co-founded the Alpine Club of Canada, and as a leading preservationist helped create the Canadian National Parks Association. The boundary survey stands as his greatest achievement.<O:P> </O:P>

Events of National Significance commemorated in Jasper National Park<O:P> </O:P>

The Overlanders of 1862<O:P> </O:P>

In 1862, the Overlanders, numbering about 250, left their homes in Canada for the Cariboo gold fields. They journeyed via Fort Garry and Edmonton, and thence, guided by Indians, to the mountains and westward by the Yellowhead Pass to the Fraser River. The majority rafted downstream to the goldfields; others followed the North Thompson to Kamloops. The hardships they experienced and the perils they encountered, particularly between Jasper and Tête Jaune Cache and in the canyons and rapids of the Fraser and North Thompson make their journey one of the epics of Canadian travel and adventure.<O:P> </O:P>