{"id":1531,"date":"2025-02-21T01:32:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-21T01:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/the-merits-of-volunteering-at-an-archive-why-we-do-it-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-04-29T18:14:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T18:14:54","slug":"tracing-tributaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/tracing-tributaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Tracing Tributaries: A Historical Profile of Four Creeks in Northern Alberta"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_color=”green” icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-feather” css=””]By Thomas J. Chenard, 21 February, 2025 – Local History vol. 1, no. 1[\/vc_message][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Almost every drop of water that touches the earth must find its way to the ocean, but have you ever stopped and sought to see which way the water flows?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I\u00a0<\/strong>was first struck by this thought while learning how to drive, my older brother insisting that we stay on the gravel to begin. The township system of range and township roads ensured that the majority of this driving was uneventful, but one section particularly enthralled me, that being where Township Road 772 snakes around Peavine Creek. From there, I developed a fascination of hopping in my car and raising dust to appreciate just exactly how humanity has conquered the whims of water’s flow.<\/p>\n

Carving through the earth, the numerous creeks within the M. D. of Smoky River No. 130 have acted as both a cradle for the development of colonies steeped in religious symbology and the ire of farmers suddenly told a portion of their acreage has eroded away. The countless dams, ditches, and drainages constructed over the years have occupied the municipality second only to road maintenance, the two paths overlapping in the form of 135 bridges and hundreds of culverts within it. Local history does not find itself inadvertently connected to these creeks but rather informed by it. Human geography<\/b>, the study of how geography, human action, and culture inform one another, can be applied on the micro-historical level to help us become more familiar with our communities, causing us to think about something we drive over constantly and perhaps better appreciate it.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Hunting Creek – Ruisseau de la Chasse” css=””][vc_message icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-water” css=””]<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Mouth – Smoky River at 55\u00b049’02.3″N 117\u00b031’53.3″W<\/li>\n
  • Source – Winagami Canal at 55\u00b045’07.7″N 117\u00b016’24.4″W<\/li>\n
  • GNBC – English name official since 1948-02-06<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      \n
    1. Overlooking Hunting Creek from the north-side plateau (June, 2024).<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Hunting Creek after receiving the waters of Lalby Creek, east of Range Road 255 (Dec. 2023).<\/li>\n
    3. Hunting Creek at its mouth during a dry season (June 2024).<\/li>\n
    4. Hunting Creek in its germinal state west of AB Highway 744 (November, 2023).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Hunting Creek<\/strong> was the cradle of settlement for the first pioneers of Girouxville, still densely covered in game trails near its confluence as an essential corridor for deer. A tributary of the Smoky River, it runs roughly 35 km through the Municipal District of Smoky River. It forms north of Dreau, receiving its waters primarily from the Kimiwan Lake canal, and secondarily from the Bremont Drainage. Upstream are multiple hay marshes in places where the creek widens, and the creek increasingly forms a deeper ravine that measures over 120 feet deep near its mouth. It has been colloquially called <\/span>Le Crique [\u00e0] Remillard<\/span><\/i> in the past, referring to pioneer R\u00e9mi Remillard (1848-1921) and his descendants,\u00a0<\/span>who homesteaded off the banks of the creek.\u00b9<\/span><\/p>\n

      W. Selby writes of Hunting Creek in 1909 as having a good water flow, though lacking in August. This is the first mention of the name, and it likely relates to Selby\u2019s comment that those townships it crosses are abundant in wildlife: \u201cMoose, bears and some of the smaller fur-bearing animals are killed here every year.\u201d C. D. Brown, surveying in 1913, considered Hunting Creek (not referenced by name) to be instead a tributary of <\/span>Racing Creek<\/b>, which he describes as flowing \u201cin a westerly direction through the northern part of sections 21, 20 and 19 and the southern part of sections 28, 29 and 30\u201d in T78-R22-W5. This description makes Racing Creek include the lower portions of Hunting Creek and the entirety of Lalby Creek.\u00b2<\/span> Later government maps determined that Racing Creek would begin at the confluence of Hunting and Lalby Creeks.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”Lalby Creek – Ruisseau Lalby” css=””][vc_message icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-water” css=””]<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Mouth – Hunting Creek at 55\u00b046’46.9″N 117\u00b022’22.0″W<\/li>\n
      • Source – Lac Magloire at 55\u00b052’08.0″N 117\u00b011’05.6″W<\/li>\n
      • GNBC – English name official since 1948-02-06<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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          \n
        1. Lalby Creek at its source, <\/span>surrounded by hay marsh (April, 2024).<\/li>\n
        2. The Guenette Drainage weir (April, 2024).<\/li>\n
        3. Along the banks of Lalby Creek was an important pack trail to facilitate travel between Girouxville and Lac Magloire, which was used for cutting ice in the winter. Pictured are portions of townships T78-R22-W5, T79-R22-W5, and T79-R21-W5.<\/span><\/li>\n
        4. F. Lalby, namesake of the creek, pictured during the First World War (1914-1918).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]The primary tributary of Hunting Creek, Lalby Creek<\/strong> runs approximately 25 km from Lac Magloire to its mouth. A weir dams the creek to control the outflow of the lake, after which its uppermost section is diverted through a ditch called the <\/span>Guenette Drainage<\/b>. It receives the waters of Boisvert Drainage east of Range Road 220 as it begins to form a shallow ravine. Lalby Creek is named after the early homesteader Robert Fran\u00e7ois Lalby (1889-?), a native of Bordeaux who returned to serve in the French Army during the First World War. He took his homestead on NW-S36-T78-R22-W5 in 1914, second only to Charles & Paul Bourgeois in settling on the banks of the creek. He and his wife, Suzanne (n\u00e9e Bonnamour), moved back to France in 1936.<\/span><\/p>\n

          It was first recorded as <\/span>Reed Creek<\/b> by H. W. Selby in 1909 in reference to its source (called Reed Lake before the arrival of Francophone settlement), and later recognized by surveyor C. D. Brown in 1913 as extending to the Smoky River under the\u00a0<\/span>name Racing Creek.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Peavine Creek – Ruisseau au Jargeau” css=””][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_message icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-water” css=””]<\/p>\n

            \n
          • Mouth – Little Smoky River at 55\u00b035’31.0″N 117\u00b021’11.0″W<\/li>\n
          • Sources – North (Gervais) Branch at 55\u00b038’09.0″N 116\u00b053’53.9″W; South Branch at 55\u00b038’08.8″N 117\u00b000’28.8″W<\/li>\n
          • GNBC – English name official since 1948-02-06<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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              \n
            1. Peavine Creek pooling after the meeting of its two branches (July 2024),<\/span><\/li>\n
            2. Source of the northern branch, draining muskeg at the corner of Range Road 194 and Township Road 770 (July, 2024).<\/span><\/li>\n
            3. Source of the southern branch, draining gently rolling hills south of Township Road 770, modified by riprap and a culvert (July 2024).<\/span><\/li>\n
            4. Flooding of Peavine Creek on Philias Maisonneuve’s property, common before proper drainage systems (1935).<\/span><\/li>\n
            5. Weir built by Philias Maisonneuve to prevent flooding (1930s).<\/span><\/li>\n
            6. An example of the marshes on the banks of the Peavine near its mouth (August 2023).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Peavine Creek<\/strong> runs approximately 40 km from its southern source and over 50 km from its northern source in the heights south of Donnelly and McLennan. The northern branch is largely diverted through the <\/span>Gervais Drainage<\/b>, while the southern branch retains its original shape. The two branches of Peavine Creek then meet west of Range Road 205 before flowing 8 km through the <\/span>Peavine Drainage <\/b>and meeting the undiverted section of Roundlake Creek, more than doubling the size of Peavine Creek with its waters. It begins to frequently meander before forming a wooded coul\u00e9e that drains into the Little Smoky River, 2.5 km southeast of Blue Bridge Crossing.<\/span><\/p>\n

              H. Smith mentions in 1910 that the land on the west side of the creek in T76-R21-W5 was \u201cthickly covered in vetch and peavine and it is a favourite feeding ground for horses and big game,\u201d pointing to the common name for <\/span>Vicia americana<\/span><\/i> as being the creek\u2019s namesake.\u00b3<\/span> The French name <\/span>Ruisseau <\/span><\/i>(less often <\/span>Rivi\u00e8re<\/span><\/i>) <\/span>au Jargeau<\/span><\/i>, as contained in historical works such as the memoirs of Jean Pariseau, is actually a misnomer, as <\/span>jargeau<\/span><\/i> specifically refers to the non-endemic <\/span>Vicia cracca<\/span><\/i>.\u2074<\/span><\/p>\n

              Despite its insufficient water supply, Peavine Creek\u2019s status as the cradle of settlement has given it wider cultural significance. This has allowed the name to prevail in common usage over Roundlake Creek, such that the distinction has even been lost in modern municipal maps. Its cultural impact can be observed in the English-language translation of the first Falher and Donnelly history book, \u201cLeurs r\u00eaves, nos m\u00e9moires\u201d (Their dreams, our memories), which was given the new title of \u201cBy the Peavine, in the Smoky, of the Peace,\u201d the narrative of which is ultimately based on the memoirs of Ovila Sabourin. Father Jean-Baptiste Giroux is directly compared to Moses, leading his people to a promised land, the banks of Peavine Creek. In their company was a M\u00e9tis guide named Pailloux, who told of a river to the west of their camp. Fathers Giroux and Falher took their horses to scout this prospect out; rather than a river, they found a stream. As this tale recounts, it was on the banks of the Peavine that the party\u2019s first meal was consumed – a bear shot by Fred Brulotte. At the confluence of the northern and southern branches of the creek is the Parc Maisonneuve, a historic site close to where Philias Maisonneuve (1872-1940) operated his sawmill along the creek, beginning in 1916. There, a metal replica of the cross erected by the first settlers in 1912 sits engraved with their 16 names.\u2075<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Roundlake Creek \/ Ruisseau Lac Rond” css=””][vc_message icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-water” css=””]<\/p>\n

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              • Mouth – Peavine Creek at 55\u00b039’47.6″N 117\u00b011’28.6″W<\/li>\n
              • Source – 55\u00b043’49.8″N 117\u00b003’44.2″W<\/li>\n
              • GNBC – Unrecognized<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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                  \n
                1. Roundlake Creek at its largest extent alongside Range Road 213 (July 2024).<\/li>\n
                2. Roundlake Creek as it passes a mile east of the original St. Jean-Baptiste Rectory near Township Road 774 (July 2024).<\/li>\n
                3. Near the current source of the shrunken creek (July 2024).<\/li>\n
                4. An early land classification map demonstrating the pre-diversion flow of Roundlake Creek (1929).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text css=””]Roundlake Creek<\/strong> is a now unrecognized creek that runs about 15 km until it meets Peavine Creek, of which a large majority of its course has been diverted. <\/span>It receives the waters of and constitutes in part the\u00a0Falher East Drainage<\/strong>, which drains flood-prone fields directly southeast of Falher.<\/span>\u00a0While being only one to three feet deep and with well-defined banks in certain sections, H. W. Selby reports in 1909 that \u201cwithout considerable work a wagon road could not be made along the winter trail west of Roundlake Creek, since the willow flats to be crossed, which drain northerly and are wide, hold the water until late in the season.\u201d\u00b3<\/span><\/p>\n

                  The creek is named after Round (Kimiwan) Lake, as before the digging of the Kimiwan Lake canal, it carried the drainage of both Kimiwan and Rat Lakes<\/span>. After the initial period of settlement and exacerbated by the building of drainages, the name quickly fell out of both common and governmental usage, often recognized as an extension of Peavine Creek; for instance, Andr\u00e9 Boulet constructed a dam on SW-T77-R20-W5 in 1938, which blueprints refer to as lying upon Peavine Creek rather than Roundlake Creek.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

                  Footnotes<\/h3>\n
                    \n
                  1. As per oral communication from C\u00e9cile (n\u00e9e Lanct\u00f4t) Brulotte, and confirmed by an interview with Yvette (n\u00e9e Couillard) Charest, see: Project de Recherche Historique Francophone Collection (1989), Cassette #2 – Yvette Charest.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  2. For Selby\u2019s testimony see: Canada Department of the Interior (Topographical Surveys Branch), <\/span>Description of Surveyed Townships in the Peace River District in the Provinces of Alberta and British Columbia<\/span><\/i>, 3rd Edition (1913), p. 120; for Brown\u2019s, see Ibid, p. 133.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  3. Dept. Int., <\/span>Description of Surveyed Townships in the Peace River District<\/span><\/i> (1913)<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>p. 118.<\/span><\/li>\n
                  4. Jean Pariseau, <\/span>Les contes de mon patelin<\/span><\/i> (\u00c9ditions des Plaines, 1985).<\/span><\/li>\n
                  5. Marie Cimon-Beaupr\u00e9, ed., <\/span>Leurs r\u00eaves, nos m\u00e9moires<\/span><\/i> (1979).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_message message_box_color=”green” icon_fontawesome=”fas fa-feather” css=””]By Thomas J. Chenard, 21 February, 2025 – Local History vol. 1, no. 1[\/vc_message][vc_column_text css=””] Almost every drop of water that touches the earth must find its way to the ocean, but have you ever stopped and sought to see which way the water flows? I\u00a0was first struck by this thought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-localhistory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1531"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1544,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1531\/revisions\/1544"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shgsr.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}