it is fairly well known that the present site of Edmonton was on the route of the old Wolf's Track that took travellers from Mexico right up to the Barren Lands to the north. It was also known by the name, the Old North Trail.
Edmonton was established as a good place to cross the North Saskatchewan River perhaps from time immemorial, due to a shallow ford near today's High Level Bridge. And the Rossdale flats was a gathering place and camping ground from time immemorial as well, according to archaeological and oral evidence.
Perhaps the Wolf's Track dates back to the time 11,000 years ago to 6000 years ago when the Ice Age peaked and left. A corridor opened in line with Edmonton, running alongside the Rockies, still encased in ice and snow, and the edge of the large icefield in the interior of the continent to the east and north. Animals and people likely moved up and down through this corridor earlier than in other northern parts of the continent. Nature abhors a vacuum, as we learned from the movie Jurassic Park, And that was the case back then - plants, predators and prey moving into newly de-iced locales - and humans as well.
The most recent glacial advance in North America reached its maximum extent 25,000 - 18,000 years ago, while the beginning or peak of the warming is considered to be 11,700 years ago, or about 9700 BCE. But deglaciation continued noticeably in some places as recently as 6000 years ago -- and is continuing today.
the route of the old North Trail is discussed in Dan Cushman's book The Great North Trail.
Trails in central Alberta predate the founding of the first Fort Edmonton and the NWC's Fort Augusts at the site of today's Fort Saskatchewan in 1795, and the founding of NWC's Rocky Mountain House and HBC's Acton House at Rocky Mountain House.
David Thompson used RMH as his base when he crossed the Rockies to be first person to cross the continent north of Mexico around 1806. In 1807 he crossed the Rockeis through Howse Pass.
Thompson recorded in his journals that he often went east from RMH and then turned to come north to Edmonton on the North Trail, which used a ford over the Red Deer River near today's City of Red Deer.
At that time a north-south trail followed the foothills and went through RMH. It is now known as Cowboy Trail.
RMH was also on a trail that came west from Buffalo Lake. (https://www.paulpettypiece.com/historic_trails.htm)
By the 1860s the site where Tail Creek joined the Red Deer River held one of the largest settlements in western Canada. About 2000 wintered there. The shores of Buffalo Lake nearby also held a large settlement of buffalo hunters.
This trail likely followed the route of Highway 11 while other trails used in the early fur trade followed the route of Highway 12.
Ed Barnett was one of first settlers in Lacombe. This centre is located along the old Buffalo Lake-to-RMH trail.
Calgary was founded in 1874 and that helped increase the use of the section of the North Trail coming north from Calgary. The subequent Calgary-Edmonton Trail was likely built on the old North Trail.
The Calgary -Edmonton Trail crossed the Red Deer River at a ford about 6 kilometres upstream from the City of Red Deer.
In 1885 when troops came north to rescue the young settlement of Edmonton from a feared Cree attack, part of the force built Fort Normandeu along the route. This historic site stands today.
By that time a small settlement of Red Deer Crossing was built at the ford.
After the CPR was built to Calgary in 1883, traffic up and down the Calgary-Edmonton Trail increased substantially. A stopping house was put into operation about each 32 kms. along the route, where after a day or several hours of travel, the freightwagons, Red River carts and stagecoach could stop and travellers could find a meal or accommodation. The stagecoach used to take four days to make the trip from Edmonton to Calgary. Than after a three days' rest, turn around and make the trip the other direction.
(The trail became much less busy after the C&E Railway was completed in 1891.)
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But before the railway came to Alberta and much before the first automobile, the old North Trail was a major thoroughfare for those travelling on foot, horseback or using travoisor Red River cart or wagon.
The North Trail was an intertwined group of trails that came north across today's Canada-U.S border with one route being through Whiskey Gap
Cushman says at Calgary it forked with one trail coming north from Calgary to what is toda's Edmonton.
A west branch followed the edge of the foothills (likely what is called Cowboy Traill today).
At Edmonton it forked again with the west branch crossing Athabasca River at today's Fort Assiniboine and then edging northwest to the Yukon.
The right-hand fork went northeast from Rossdale, to where, at the old location of the Halfway Hotel (where 18th Street and Fort Road meet, north of 167 Avenue), it turned to go north to the Barren Lands past today's Wood Buffalo Park.
Freighters from Montana and southern Alberta increasingly used the crude 'road' between Calgary and Edmonton and it became known as the Calgary-Edmonton Trail.
The trail crossed the Red Deer River at a natural and relatively safe ford about six kilometres upstream from the current city of Red Deer where Fort Normandeau is located.
In 1882 and 1883, several settlers set up at the ford, mostly on the south side of the river in a community known as Red Deer Crossing as well as along the river both up and down stream.
Ed Barnett was the first settler in the Lacombe area and between the Red Deer River and Fort Edmonton. A trail linking Rocky Mountain House with Buffalo Lake went through Lacombe
see also
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