In 1865, Oblate Albert Lacombe founded the St.-Paul-des-Cris
mission on the North Saskatchewan River. Numerous difficulties,
particularly the smallpox epidemic, forced the closure of the
mission in 1874, but Lacombe continued to pursue his goal of
creating a community where he could teach Aboriginals how to
farm while educating their children. To this end, Lacombe
approached the Federal Cabinet and was granted a 21-year lease
on four townships under the direction of the syndicate of the
Episcopal corporations of St. Albert, St. Boniface, and Prince
Albert, and two laymen—the Honourable Judge Ouimet and the
Honourable Senator R. Dandurand.
In 1896, Father Adéodat Thérien was appointed to lay the
foundation of St.-Paul-des-Métis (St. Paul), named in
recognition of the previous mission. The Oblates wanted St. Paul
to become a very important site populated almost exclusively by
Métis people, but the isolation was a great hindrance to its
growth. In 1905, the flow of settlers into the West was too
great, and by 1909, the mission was opened to settlers of any
ethnicity.
Despite continued difficulties such as fire, crop-destroying
hail storms, and the outbreak of influenza, St.-Paul-des-Métis
continued to grow and flourish. Notable achievements include the
attainment of village status in 1912; the arrival of the railway
in 1920; the introduction of electricity in 1921; and natural
gas usage in 1949. While the village has been referred to as
simply St. Paul since 1919, the name wasn’t officially changed
until 1936.
Today St. Paul is a town of 5,000 boasting strong
agriculture, oil, and gas industries. Cultural connections to its
past are evident through museums such as the St. Paul People’s
Museum and Musée Historique de St. Paul Historical Museum, and
multilingual cultural education offered at the all-French École
du Sommet and the Blue Quills First Nations College. The
region's cultural roots are also apparent in the existence of
the St. Paul branch of the Association Canadienne-Francaise de
l’Alberta (ACFA) which was founded in 1928 and currently has a
membership of 500.
Related Link:
http://collections.ic.gc.ca/stvincent-stpaul/eng/index.htm
Source:
- Dion, Joseph et al. Du Passé au Present and Past: St.
Paul – St. Edouard Alberta 1896 – 1990. Société du Livre
Historique de St.-Paul Historical Book Society. Friesen
Printers. 1990.
- Legal, Émile J. Short Sketches of the History of the
Catholic Churches and Missions in Central Alberta. Winnipeg:
West Canada Publishing Co. Ltd., 1914.
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