Located along Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass region of southwestern Alberta, the Burmis Tree is a limber pine estimated to be between 600 and 750 years old at the time of its death in the late 1970’s. Please note this page is under construction.
The Deer Lodge Warden Cabin was built in 1904 by Reuben Gable, who was among the first game wardens in what was then known as the Yoho Park Reserve (now Yoho National Park). Its purpose was to house game wardens while patrolling the backcountry.
The Moose Hill Ranch residence was a dovetailed log cabin constructed in 1885 by Edward Henry Osbourne Vaudin [1,2]. The cabin was continuously occupied until 1979 when its function switched to storage and finally abandoned in 2004 [2]. After the major flooding event in 2013, the land where the cabin was located was purchased as part of the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir Project. Prior to demolition, it was required by the Alberta Ministry of Culture and Status of Woman that the cabin was fully recorded. The work was undertaken by a historical resources team who completed an archaeological excavation and heritage survey of the site.
The Blum Residence is an Expressionist house with a main split level and full-height basement. The home is distinguished by its rambling massing with curved corners, flat thin-shell concrete roof and dramatic crescent-shaped full-height fieldstone supports, flanking each side of the front façade. A balcony with a low wooden balustrade lines the main storey of the house. A curved fieldstone wall and wooden flat roof garage fronts the south side and a gravel driveway lines the southend of the property [5].
“over the edge of which hunters used to drive the buffalo…and their bones still lie in places two and three feet deep”
St. Maur, S. 1890.
Buffalo jumps such as this are found scattered over the Plains of North America. Archaeological excavations took place at this site in 2015 and 2016 and recoveries include stone projectile points, along with metal trade points, and a glass trade bead, these material culture indicators suggest that the jump was used between 1725 to 1870 A.D., the continued use of which spans the period immediately preceding, during and directly following the first interaction between First Nations and Europeans along the foothills of southern Alberta. The Buffalo Jump site represents one of the greatest achievements of communal hunting to survive in harsh climatic conditions and recoveries from the excavations can be used to provide additional insight into cultural transformation during this dynamic period.
The Turner Valley Gas Plant is the most significant surviving resource associated with the development of the Turner Valley oilfield. The industrial face of Canada was changed forever when oil was struck in January of 1913 at the facilities’ Dingman no. 1 and no. 2 wells. During the course of three separate stages of development, the Turner Valley Gas Plant moved from being the first petroleum processing facility west of Ontario to the largest natural gas processing plant in Canada’s largest oilfield. The plant operated over a 70 year period – staying open through two World Wars and the Great Depression – until it was shut down in 1985.
The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) Barracks, were constructed in 1884 replacing the original fort on MacLeod Island in the Old Man River (Est. 1874) due to flooding [4]. The buildings left of the NWMP Barracks represent the history of the protection of Canadian sovereignty of the West. As the first permanent station of the NWMP in western Canada Fort Macleod’s history is intertwined with the difficult histories of the whiskey trade, Indigenous relations, and European settlement in Southern Alberta. This survey was conducted to assist Alberta Culture and Tourism with the reconstruction and preservation of the harness shop (tag 4 in 3D model).
Upon European arrival to North America, windmill technology was quickly adapted to pump well water in order to allow for the settlement of the arid prairie environments. The use of wind-pump technology became a main feature of ranches and farms in the West, with popularity expanding through to the 1930s. The Springbank Hill wind-pump is a prime example of the use of these wind-pumps in the settlement of Alberta. This is a subsampled point cloud of the windmill which has subsequently been demolished.
The Glenbow General Store and Post Office operated in the town of Glenbow, Alberta from 1909 until 1918 serving the people of Glenbow and surrounding area. The building itself consisted of a relocated farmhouse and extension to meet the needs of a growing town [8]. After the store closed, the building was used as a granary until the floor collapsed, after which the building was abandoned. The building’s importance to the settlement of the area in the early twentieth century, as well as to the quarry that provided sandstone for several important buildings in Alberta, contribute to its value as a historic resource. Please Note: This is a decimated point cloud of the standing building.
The Information Bureau was constructed in 1958 with distinctive stonework on the exterior; the stonework included a false chimney/buttress that was the main entrance to the building [1]. This small (56 m²) single storey structure was built into the hillside to provide a prominent and purpose-built location for the growing number of tourists visiting Waterton Lakes National Park [1]. This building provides an excellent example of International Style architecture that was prominent in the park throughout the 1950s and 60s [1]. This is a subsampled point cloud of what remained of the Visitors Bureau, post fire. The masonry has since been removed from the site.
