Credit: Smokey Lake Region
1906 Methodist Church
Victoria Settlement
Smoky Lake, AB
780-656-2333 | Website
This historic site explains the rapid rise and fall of the Victoria Settlement.
Category:
Visual Arts Location
What:
| Type | | Museum |
Where:
| Neighbourhood | | North |
| Getting There | | Located 10 km south of Smoky Lake on secondary highway #855 |
When:
| May 15 through Labour Day: 10AM-6PM daily |
Profile Last Updated: April 29, 2008
On the Banks of the River
A century and a half ago, foot and cart paths followed the North Saskatchewan River into Alberta. The Victoria Trail was a major route and Reverend George McDougall founded a Methodist Mission to the Cree, in 1862, at a spot about 40 miles downstream of present-day Edmonton. The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Victoria in 1864, to trade with the local natives. The Mission and Fort became the nucleus for a Metis community whose river lots extended six miles along the bank of the river. This settlement thrived until 1918, when the railway went through Smoky Lake, north of Victoria Settlement, and people moved to be closer to the rail line.
A Tale of Two Structures
Two restored structures help tell the story of Victoria Settlement; the 1864 Clerk's Quarters and the 1906 Methodist Church. Exhibits, trails, and a variety of activities, provided by costumed interpreters, help tell the story of a once bustling community that experienced a sudden decline and all but vanished.
A century and a half ago, foot and cart paths followed the North Saskatchewan River into Alberta. The Victoria Trail was a major route and Reverend George McDougall founded a Methodist Mission to the Cree, in 1862, at a spot about 40 miles downstream of present-day Edmonton. The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Victoria in 1864, to trade with the local natives. The Mission and Fort became the nucleus for a Metis community whose river lots extended six miles along the bank of the river. This settlement thrived until 1918, when the railway went through Smoky Lake, north of Victoria Settlement, and people moved to be closer to the rail line.
A Tale of Two Structures
Two restored structures help tell the story of Victoria Settlement; the 1864 Clerk's Quarters and the 1906 Methodist Church. Exhibits, trails, and a variety of activities, provided by costumed interpreters, help tell the story of a once bustling community that experienced a sudden decline and all but vanished.
