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A New Land
The first settlers of the west went through quite a few hardships when looking for a patch of land to call their own, most notably through the wild conditions found in the prairies and the lack of resources needed to keep up a settlement. Most of Alberta's first settlers came in the 1880's, but then went to British Columbia to settle in Dunmore when the conditions in Alberta were too harsh; however, since their new land was located in the middle of "Palliser's Triangle", a tract of land that people thought was no good for farming, many of these returned to Alberta later on. After a long trek full of hardship, initially in search of Edmonton, the settlers found an area of level land and established a community in it, which would later be called Spruce Grove.From "As The Roots Grow: the history of Spruce Grove and district":
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [1] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 2 - [2] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 3 - [2] LA
- Gr. 4 - [2] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 5 - [3] LA
- Gr. 6 - [5] LA
- Gr. 7 - [5] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 8 - [6] LA [2] Social
- Gr. 9 - [7] LA
- Gr. 10 - [7] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 11 - [7] LA
- Gr. 12 - [7] LA
Settling of Spruce Grove
The first settlers of the land that would later be called Spruce Grove, who came in 1891, originally needed to travel all the way to Edmonton to get their supplies, but it was such a dangerous and long trip that some people decided to open up stores right at the settlement. That was the very beginning of the town, which the folks wanted to name after the trees that grew in small clumps in the prairie around it: namely, poplars and spruces. Since there was already a town named Poplar Grove in the west, it was decided: the new settlement would be henceforth known as Spruce Grove. Since there was already a church built at the corner of Highway 16 and Century Road, this is where the town officially began to grow.
From "As The Roots Grow: a history of Spruce Grove and district":
Page 36
Page 37
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [3] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 2 - [3] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 3 - [4] LA
- Gr. 4 - [4] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 5 - [5] LA
- Gr. 6 - [6] LA
- Gr. 7 - [7] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 8 - [7] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 9 - [6] LA
- Gr. 10 - [5] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 11 - [3] LA
- Gr. 12 - [2] LA
The Big Move
With the building of the railroad came a few unexpected factors, not the least of which it being the deciding factor of Spruce Grove's location. The local train station was built three quarters of a mile west of the town in 1908, which meant that the town needed to move. So they dismantled most of the businesses and buildings, relocating them so as to be near the train station. This process took several years to complete, and some houses were never moved at all, merely left where they stood until the land they were on was needed, then demolished to make space.
From "As The Roots Grow: a history of Spruce Grove and district":
Page 39
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [2] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 2 - [2] LA [7] Social
- Gr. 3 - [4] LA
- Gr. 4 - [4] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 5 - [5] LA
- Gr. 6 - [6] LA
- Gr. 7 - [6] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 8 - [7] LA [2] Social
- Gr. 9 - [7] LA
- Gr. 10 - [6] LA [2] Social
- Gr. 11 - [5] LA
- Gr. 12 - [3] LA
The Post Office
John McPherson, one of the first settlers of the area, used to go out to Edmonton to purchase supplies: often, he would do so for many different people who would have asked him. One of the most important demands, though, was mail, and McPherson's home became a sort of post office, where he brought back mail and distributed it to the needed people. Eventually, the need for a real post office was seen, and Mr. McNabb, associate to McPherson, built the first post office with the help of Jacob Miller. The mail was officially brought out by various teams, and when the town of Spruce Grove moved to its permanent location, the post office was relocated into the general store. It then had an interesting and convoluted history of burning-downs and resurrections and many changings of hands, and as the town grew, the post service became more elaborate to serve the larger population. From humble beginnings to a large, organized network, Spruce Grove's post office and mail system has a rich history.Click here to visit the pages of "As The Roots Grow" that tell the post office's story:
Page 39 - Page 40
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [3] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 2 - [3] LA [7] Social
- Gr. 3 - [4] LA
- Gr. 4 - [4] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 5 - [4] LA
- Gr. 6 - [5] LA
- Gr. 7 - [6] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 8 - [7] LA [2] Social
- Gr. 9 - [7] LA
- Gr. 10 - [6] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 11 - [5] LA
- Gr. 12 - [5] LA
The Blacksmith Shop
A blacksmith was a necessity in any part of Canada in early Western history: not only did they provide shoes for horses, but they created and mended metal tools, and did all manner of maintenance jobs that would be impossible to do otherwise. Spruce Grove's first blacksmith was built even before Mr. McNabb built the log building that would serve as the post office, indicating just how valuable this job and building was. Many different blacksmiths were inaugurated from then on, founded by locals and immigrants alike, and their shared history is long, fruitful, and sometimes even humorous.Click here to view the page of "As The Roots Grow" that tells the story of blacksmithing in Spruce Grove.
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [2] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 2 - [2] LA [4] Social
- Gr. 3 - [3] LA
- Gr. 4 - [3] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 5 - [4] LA
- Gr. 6 - [5] LA
- Gr. 7 - [6] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 8 - [7] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 9 - [7] LA
- Gr. 10 - [6] LA [2] Social
- Gr. 11 - [5] LA
- Gr. 12 - [3] LA
The Hotel
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In 1912, the Spruce Grove hotel had moved to its new location in the now-permanent town, and served as a distinct landmark for the growing hamlet. Over 20 years, the hotel changed hands many, many times, the cause of which is a rather funny story in and of itself. The government required certain standard renovations to be made to the hotel, and imposed these on the owner.
Every owner managed to complete some renovations, but it was never enough, and rather than spend more money on the hotel, they sold it off to a new owner. When a building changed ownership, a waiting period was permitted for the new owner before the government bore down once more, and the cycle was started anew. During those switches, many interesting events came to affect the hotel. Some were good, such as the gain of a pool table as well as a barber shop, while others were not so good. The time of prohibition, where alcohol became illegal, was one of these. Bootlegging alcohol put a serious hamper on the hotel's business, and it was not before 1923 that the vote was made public again, and surprisingly, reversed. Strong alcohol legislation came into being then, and hotels became known as "beer parlours" for the only alcohol they could sell was beer. Afterwards, the hotel grew in leaps and bounds, and changed hands plentifully. At the time of the writing of "As The Roots Grow", it still stood, a proud landmark of the enduring town.
Click here to view the pages of "As The Roots Grow" that tell the hotel's story:
Page 41 - Page 42 - Page 43
CIN Usefulness Ratings per grade:
- Gr. 1 - [2] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 2 - [2] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 3 - [3] LA
- Gr. 4 - [3] LA [5] Social
- Gr. 5 - [4] LA
- Gr. 6 - [5] LA
- Gr. 7 - [6] LA [6] Social
- Gr. 8 - [7] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 9 - [7] LA
- Gr. 10 - [6] LA [3] Social
- Gr. 11 - [5] LA
- Gr. 12 - [3] LA
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