John F. Gilpin - The Elbow : a river in the life of the city

A River in the
Life of the City

John Gilpin

Second edition

To the Elbow River and its friends

This book was written with the assistance of a number of people and institutions, beginning with Gerry Stotts, who first suggested that a book on the history of the Glenmore Waterworks should be written and who made a significant financial contribution toward funding the research. Significant financial contributions to this end were also made by the City of Calgary, the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, and the Calgary Foundation. Funding from the Calgary Foundation also provided the resources to link the project to community activities in the Mission District involving the construction of the Elbow River Promenade. Community-based activities included a workshop to examine the various themes in Calgarys relationship to the Elbow River. These themes were also explored in a series of walks organized along the Elbow from the Mission District to Elbow Park. Heritage Park played a valuable role as the administrator of the funds from the City of Calgary, the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, and the Calgary Foundation for community liaison and research purposes. The Alberta Historical Resources Foundation also provided a grant in aid of publication. The Glenbow Library and Archives, the City of Calgary Archives, the Local History Room of the Calgary Public Library, and the Provincial Archives of Alberta provided a wealth of primary sources that were the cornerstone for this study of the Elbow River. Carol Stokes at the City of Calgary Archives played a particularly valuable role by letting me know about their holdings of engineering records regarding the construction of the Glenmore Dam.

Organizing the workshop and the walks, as well as collecting historical information on the Elbow River, introduced me to a new group of people who provided information and encouragement and made the project relevant to the issue of the future of the Elbow River in Calgary. Eilish Hiebert of the Mission District Community Association, from our first meeting at the Purple Perk coffee house, contributed her organizing abilities and enthusiasm. Bill Longstaff is another active member of the Mission community interested in its heritage. Robin McLeod, as a dedicated friend of the Elbow River, organized an expedition on the river from the Glenmore Dam to Fort Calgary. Gus Yaki led the first walk and shared his wealth of knowledge on the flora and fauna of the Elbow Valley. Tony Starlight contributed his perspectives on the Elbow as a member of the Tsuu T'ina First Nation. Bob van Wegen provided a number of community contacts and suggested sources of information. Ted Giles of Detselig Enterprises expressed confidence in the success of the book when it was only in outline form. Reg and Sylvia Harrill took time to search the archives of the Earl Grey Golf Club for source material. Dan Thorburn and his colleagues at the Calgary Foundation not only efficiently processed the grant application, but also conveyed an appreciation for the idea of writing a history of Calgary from the point of view of the Elbow River. George Campbell served as an excellent moderator for the workshop. Muriel Armstrong, Joycelin (Sara) Snaddon, and Doug Hawkes shared their memories of growing up along the river. Gerry Oetelaar of the University of Calgary Department of Anthropology and Archeology shared his insights on the human settlement of the Elbow. Paul Fesko and Jamie Dixon of the City of Calgary Water Resources Department provided valuable background on the Calgary waterworks system. Mark Bennett, executive director of the Bow River Basin Council, provided a valuable list of contacts. Sylvia Harnden of Heritage Park supplied important historical information on the park.

The first edition of this book benefited greatly from the expertise of librarians, archivists, fellow historians, and a cartographer. The second edition has benefited in equal measure from the editorial and design expertise of Lauri Seidlitz, Nicholle Carrire, and Carol Dragich. Their contributions have ensured that the original goal of producing a quality book in all respects about the Elbow River has been fully achieved.

The genesis of this book was the suggestion from Gerry Stotts that the 75th anniversary of the construction of the Glenmore Waterworks be celebrated. Investigating the use of the Elbow River as a supply of water for the growing city of Calgary indicated that Calgarys association with the Elbow went well beyond a dam. The result was a journey both in place and time starting at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow Rivers, where Calgary was founded in 1875 with the arrival of the North-West Mounted Police, and extending upstream to that part of the Elbow that became the site for the Glenmore Dam and Reservoir after 1932.

The Elbow River was the axis along which settlement developed at Fort Calgary from 1875 to 1884. Bridging the Elbow River was the cause of conflict between the new town of Calgary built around the Canadian Pacific Railway station and the Catholic mission when it was feared that Father Albert Lacombe might be developing a rival townsite. Later, the Elbow River separated two business groups that periodically fought for control of the economic destiny of the Calgary townsite, and an economic recovery plan in the mid-1890s was based in part on using Elbow River water for irrigation. Greater Calgary, first proposed in 1906 and fully achieved after World War II, depended on the water of the Elbow.