Hudson’s Bay Company explorer William Pink first visited the
lake Atin Osogan Sagahigan (Cree for "the dog, the rump, the
lake") 210 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, circa 1766-67. The
area's beaver and buffalo population had interested the fur
traders for years, and in the 1850s, Oblate missionaries on
their way to Lac La Biche also passed through. Despite all of
this activity, it wasn’t until 1884, that A. F. Cotton surveyed
the lake and renamed it "Vincent" after his son. The
Missionaries promptly renamed it "St. Vincent," and in 1906, the
growing colony was dubbed "Lac-St.-Vincent" by Bishop Émile
Legal.
While the area was officially opened to settlement in 1909,
French-speaking immigrants recruited by Oblates settled in the
area as early as 1906. In 1907, Bishop Justin Grandin appointed
Father Eugene Bonny to organize the parish which became known
for its fertile land. An effect of the railroad bypassing the
community in 1918, St. Vincent never achieved village status,
but remained a viable rural community.
For the first and second generation of residents, the parish
of St. Vincent was important to maintain their religious and
cultural affiliations. A chapter of the Association
Canadienne-Francaise de l’Alberta (ACFA) was established in
1927, and various parish priests contributed to the
establishment of cultural institutions to aid the community. In
spite of the loss of a newly built church to a fire in 1918 (the
construction of which had been spearheaded by parish priest,
Alberic Ouellette) the parishioners rallied on. Charles Okhuysen
was able to obtain teaching sisters from the Sisters of the
Assumption, who aided parishioners in the establishment of a new
church, also used as a school. With the move toward centralizing
educational institutions, the school was closed in 1965 and the
Sisters of the Assumption left the community.
Today St. Vincent continues to be active. While population
has dwindled, farms have grown exponentially over the years,
making the area a rural success. Still populated by people of
French descent, St. Vincent remains an important part of the
French community in Alberta.
Related Link:
St. Vincent website (http://collections.ic.gc.ca/stvincent-stpaul/eng/st_vincent/vincent_index.htm)
Source:
- Champagne, Juliette Marthe. De la Bretagne aux plaines
de l’Ouest canadien. Saint-Nicholas: Les Presses de
l’Université Laval, 2003.
- Legal, Émile J. Short Sketches of the History of the
Catholic Churches and Missions in Central Alberta. Winnipeg:
West Canada Publishing Co. Ltd., 1914.
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