Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Tail Creek: The 8 Year Town

All that is left of Tail Creek Town
I have heard of the Tail Creek recreation area but I had no idea there was ever a town there.  Mind you, it wasn't a town for long only from 1870-1878. During this time is was the largest Metis settlement in the Northwest Territories (Alberta was not a Province until 1905). Tail Creek Town had roughly 400 log cabins. Historical reports say all the cabins were similar in style, log walls, pole roofs covered with earth and straw, animal hide windows, and hand hewn doors. The insides were plastered with mud and straw and said to be warm even in a blizzard. At it's peak there was 1500-2000 people in town. Tail Creek became a staging area for hunters looking for supplies such as food, saddles, harnesses, clothing, tents, etc. Meat and hides were traded with the Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort Edmonton (which at this time had a smaller population than Tail Creek). The harsh winters were passed by dancing and gambling. I can almost hear the fiddles and foot stomping revelry that surely carried on into the wee hours.

In 1875 a four man North West Mounted Police Detachment was set up in the town. It was needed to protect the people from rumored whiskey runners who were coming to set up shop. The original bad ass Canadian, Sam Steele, was there during this period to handle the situation. He was to be disappointed though as the rumors did not amount to anything and he didn't get to arrest any smugglers.

By 1878 with the buffalo gone, the town population dwindled.  A devastating fire swept the through the area destroying everything but one cabin and the cemetery.  Just like that, gone. That one surviving cabin is at the Stettler Historical Museum.

I came upon this cemetery by accident, which is what is so addicting about back road exploring. I don't normally check out cemeteries but I couldn't resist this one. I crossed the plank bridge over the ditch and opened the gate. The cemetery is quite large but only the back corner had graves. I suppose the settlers assumed there'd be people in the area for a long time and a large cemetery would be needed.

Some Metis families stayed in the area and a plaque has been mounted in the cemetery to honour them as some of the first permanent residents of the area.


Entrance to the Tail Creek Cemetery
Monument to the Metis settlers of the area


There were only a couple readable headstones, one that had fallen over, a broken cross and a dozen or so wooden crosses with no discernible writing. Seems sad to not know who was buried there, is it the people listed on the plaque? The most recent death was Isabella House who died in 1917, the other readable marker was her husband James, who died in 1897. Besides the memorial plaque, and a Metis flag, there was some fabric pieces (I have been told these could be prayer cloths) on the entrance gate and an old shovel on a tree. I felt a touch of melancholy looking at this place that seems almost forgotten. I think though that as long as myself and others know about it, it won't be truly forgotten.






18 comments:

  1. What an interesting history. I did a double-take at finding one of my ancestral surnames on the plaque. My mother was a Paul - her ancestry in the US going back to their arrival from Scotland in 1615. Some of the Paul's were in Canada for a time, but it would be difficult to tell if this one was one of ours. Still, it is comforting that those buried there will not be forgotten.

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    1. Hi Vicki! Cool to see an ancestral name..and you never know! Could be a relation somewhere down the line!

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  2. Quite the post and a very interesting find. Impressive.

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  3. Hi Jenn,
    I have come over from Instagram . Love reading the story about this little spot.

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    1. Thanks for visiting my blog and Instagram. I love being able to learn more about a spot I've found and then share it.

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  4. Hi Jenn, I would love to know the exact location of this cemetary as the Roselle’s are my direct decendents and I would love to be able to visit this location.

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    1. Hi Raelene, it is south of Hwy 11 (after the turn for Highway 21). There will be a sign that says Tail Creek Road (RR 222). It's not too far down RR222. you'll see the arch and entrance to the cemetery on the east side of the road. GPS 52.296186,-113.05289 if that helps. Hope you find it, and very neat that you have a connection to this place.

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    2. Mrs. L Roselle was my Great Great Grandmother who’s name was Angelique Roselle who’s daughter also Named Angelique married 1 of those 4 NWMP Joseph Butlin. She is not buried there as they moved to Calgary to start up Fort Calgary. I believe she was buried in Morningside. Not sure about her parents tho as they may be buried there?

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    3. Only a couple of the graves are legible, the others are mostly crosses. It looks like there is a Mr & Mrs Louis Roselle there according to billiongraves.com

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    4. no way!! Joseph and Angelique Butlin are my grandparents too!

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    5. Hi Sarah, are Joseph & Angelique your Grand parents or your Great Grand Parents? Their son Archie was my Grandfather. Which of their children is your connection?

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    6. They would be my 2x Great Grandparents. Their son Walter was my great grandfather.

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  5. Thank you for posting things like this.😊

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  6. This cemetary was at one point a massive graveyard covered with little wooden roofs as the metis didn't believe in burying their dead. I'm 70 now but as a youth these little structures and graves hanging in trees were everywhere. Unfortunately this land was farmed and cattle roamed throughout it smashing and destroying the graves. My grandfather Andrew Stevenson Brodie had a Blacksmith Shop in Content until the town fell apart when the railroad bypassed it he then moved to a homestead south west about 4 miles on the far side of the Red Deer river. The land behind the graveyard all of the way to the edge of the hill was graveyard when I was a kid.

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  7. Re the statement "didn't believe in burying their dead".... that is absolutely false. The Métis were devout Roman Catholics and Anglicans, with a few Methodists, and blended their Christian faith with indigenous customs, but not when it came to burials. In fact, Métis census, baptismal, marriage and burial records are extremely well-documented, much more so than any settlers' records. The scrip records, homestead records, land and tax records, even probate files are also easily located in major archives, both north and south of the border. Historical accounts and biographies and genealogies are many, both in Canada and the U.S. All due to researchers who continue to uncover and publish this history, and to the Métis themselves, who treasured their families, their communities, their language(s), and their way of life, and still continue to do so. Their faith was and still is a blend of Christian and indigenous, and they believe in burying their dead. The thousands of extant church records prove it.

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  8. Placing the dead in trees was an indigenous custom, but those who were Christian were.buried, with the burial presided over by a Christian priest. There were many missions throughout the prairies, Canada and the US, including on the reservations. There are also baptisms, marriages and burials recorded for non-Christian indigenous people, and they are marked as such in the church records. Their cemeteries were often located in places where deceased indigenous people were placed in the trees, because those are sacred places.

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