Riviere Qui Barre is one of a group of francophone
settlements just north of St. Albert. Many offshoots of
francophone culture came together in these small Alberta towns,
villages and hamlets at the end of 19th century. Francophone
people gathered from all over, including Quebec, the United
States, Belgium, and France, and settled in the area.
The inhabitants of what is now the Alexander Reserve were in
the area first, followed by the French from Quebec in the 1880s,
and then the French from Kansas, (whose first order of business
after getting here was, quite understandably, digging tornado
shelters). The settlement also got a post office and Roman
Catholic and Presbyterian churches by 1895.
Despite being shallow, many found the river frightening. The
Cree called it Kepoohtakawa—the river that blocks the way. The
river may not have co-operated, but the soil was certainly
productive. Men came across coal seams while digging wells,
which resulted in an active coal mine between 1910 and 1913. The
mine caused a minor economic and population boom. Riviere Qui
Barre had 250 inhabitants in 1911. The settlers used the mine as
ammunition in their lobbying for a railway line to go through
the hamlet. The line, however, went through Morinville instead,
taking all dreams of expansion with it.
In its heyday, Riviere Qui Barre served as a stopping place
for prospectors en route to the Klondike—The Old Klondike Trail
was just west of the hamlet. The prospectors enjoyed the
comforts of the hamlet’s Hotel Shamrock. They came with varying
degrees of knowledge and street smarts. One Englishman shipped
the hay to feed his horses all the way from Europe in case he
couldn’t get it here. Another, when told that the squeaky wheels
of his wagon were dry, poured water all over them and went on
his way.
Riviere Qui Barre had 78 people in 2001. The Roman Catholic
Church, St. Emerence, has been in a new building since 1968. The
Camilla school, a light and airy building, serves the
surrounding area and the Alexander Reserve. The pioneers rest in
a small roadside cemetery, and the flat landscape they
cultivated is dotted with purebred cattle and farmed buffalo.
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