Fonds 325 Village of Eaglesham fonds

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Summary information

Administrative history / Biographical sketch

Eaglesham was established as a railway siding in 1916 when the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia railway forged west from the Smoky River towards Rycroft and Spirit River. The railroaders also referred to it as Smith Siding since many cattle were shipped from Clyde Smith’s Egg Lake Ranch. In 1929, the Forgets and Joe McDaid were two of the four householders in Eaglesham. Ovila Forget donated an acre of land to the Catholic Church and also built the first store, which included the first Massey-Harris agency as well as a British American Oil station. Joe McDaid opened the Post Office in 1928. By 1937, Albert Audet had begun to build another store, and that year a log school was built on donated land 1/2 mile west of the hamlet The 1950s brought electrical power, asphalt sidewalks, a new school, a curling rink, the United Church and the Mennonite Church. In 1967, Eaglesham achieved village status. The first Council consisted of Mayor: Thomas Lessard, Deputy-Mayor: Peter Diemert, Secretary-Treasurer: Frank Gaboury, and Councilor: Glen Knutson. The first project of the Eaglesham Council was the building of the Centennial Hall. In the first civic election in 1968, Peter Diemert was elected Mayor and held the position until 1971. Frank Gaboury was Mayor from 1971-1986, followed by Jules Boivin. The Eaglesham Recreation Board was created in 1968 and in 1969 water and sewer systems were completed. In the 1970s-1980s a garbage dump was established and natural gas was turned on. Between 1973-1978 a slough at the south entrance was turned into Tom Lessard Park. A library was opened in 1976 and an airstrip was built in the north end of the town. In the 1980s the village purchased a garbage truck, a road grader, a tractor-mower, and necessary equipment to complete a emergency reservoir south of the town. The town had two grain elevators, a seed cleaning plant, and a paved main street. As farm consolidation took place and population decreased, support for the town’s businesses declined, and Eaglesham reverted to hamlet status ca. 2006.

Custodial history

The records were deposited in the South Peace Regional Archives by Nick Poohkay in 2007.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of financial records from 1967, 1968, 1976; a subdivision plan of Eaglesham in 1962-63; a 1967 plan showing the water system, and a 1969 plan showing the sewage system.

Notes

Title notes

• Source of title proper: Title of fonds based on contents.

Access points

• Textual record (documentary form)
• Architectural drawing (documentary form)
• Politics and government* (subject)

Series descriptions