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The
Region
Social and
Economic Life
The Red Deer
and Lacombe Frontier
A notable (and sole) study relevant to this chapter in the Red Deer and Lacombe
area is a 1978 unpublished dissertation by Dr. Bruce Edward Batchelor, titled,
'The Agrarian Frontier Near Red Deer and Lacombe, 1882-1914' of which a copy
exists in the Red Deer and District Archives. This study looks at the early
geographical, social and economic developments in the region from 1882-1914.
Three important ideas emerge from this study:
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In the period 1882-1900, the region's cultural identity was fostered by
selective historical processes in immigration and in land policy, associated
with the influence of the Saskatchewan Land and Hometead Company;
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From 1901-11 the increase in the region's agricultural productivity originated
not from more farms being established, but in increased production and
cultivation on existing farms;
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During the period from 1912-1914, land speculation, economic depression and the
beginning of World War I, resulted in the rural economy failing to deliver the
level of farm income expected by rural families. This led individuals and
families to reconsider their earlier optimism about the ability and importance
of the individual producer in creating an economically successful farm
enterprise.
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