File Ath 21.02 - Canadian Northern Railway Train Station, Athabasca Feasibility Study

In the spring of 1874, in support of the fur trade, a Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) scout surveyed the terrain between Fort Edmonton and the elbow of the Athabasca River, 100 miles to the north, to assess an alternative route to Lesser Slave Lake. Chief Factor Richard Hardisty reported the results of this preliminary survey to his superior, Donald Smith at Fort Garry, indicating that a passable road could be made. It was completed by 1877 and the Athabasca Landing Trail became the main route to the Peace Country. In 1877, the HBC built a log storage shed which doubled as a temporary dwelling and the elbow became known as Athabasca Landing. In 1882, steamboat captain Louisson Fosseneuve demonstrated that the Athabasca river rapids north of Pelican Portage could be navigated by scow and portage. Each spring while the river thawed, Cree and Métis labourers were hired at the Landing to construct scows to transport goods down the Athabasca River to Ft McMurray. European and Métis crews also piloted steamboats between Lesser Slave Lake and Athabasca Landing. The HBC built a retail store, warehouse, and factor’s residence in 1886-87. By Municipal Amendment Ordinance, 1901, the Town of Athabasca Landing was incorporated by Proclamation on September 19, 1911. The first Canadian Northern Railway train from Edmonton arrived on May 25, 1912 and a class B train station was completed by December, 1912. The word Landing was officially deleted from the name of the town on August 5, 1913.