Sylvan Lake
The town of Sylvan Lake is located about 20 kilometres west of Red Deer and is situated on the southeast edge of Sylvan Lake, a 15 kilometre long freshwater lake. Currently, Sylvan Lake is a popular resort town featuring numerous restaurants and bars. During the summer, the lake is teeming with swimmers, boats and sunbathers; however, Sylvan Lake also possesses historical significance, particularly in reference to Estonian migration. Initially settled as early as 1884 by Dr. Leonard Gaetz the area would soon become the home to numerous ethnocultural groups.
In 1899, Hendrik and his brother Kristjan Kingsep were some of the first people to establish permanent settlements in the Sylvan Lake area. Attracted by the abundance of fish in Sylvan Lake, the Kingseps were not alone as French-Canadian and Finnish families had also recently settled here. Kristjan's wife Tiina and their five young children arrived one year later. Other Estonian families -Jaan, Alex and Anton Kask, Peter and Mihkel Piht, John Herman, Mihkel and Elizabet (Kask) Wartnow, Juhan Oru, Juhan Neithal and Mihkel Rahu - arrived in 1900 and 1901. Known as the Livonia Estonian settlement, families from Saaremaa in Estonian and Nurmekunde in Tver province in Russia, purchased more homesteads and, by 1903, there were 61 individuals residing in Sylvan Lake. Available land soon became scarce as an influx of Swedes, Finns and Estonians flocked to the open west. Families arriving after 1903 opted to relocate at Stettler, to the east, and Medicine Valley, to the north.
The pioneering families of Sylvan Lake formed an agricultural collective to ease the burden of farming. Without proper equipment and often facing unfavourable weather conditions, profitable farming was a challenging enterprise in the pioneer era. The agricultural collective was established by the Kingsep brothers and Juhan Neithal, originally from Nurmekunde. Other early community initiatives saw the construction of a school on land granted by Juhan Kask.
When Kristjan left Sylvan Lake in 1903, his wife, Tiina, remained on the farm and opened it up as a "midway" house to new settlers. When the railroad eventually arrived at Sylvan Lake in 1911, Tiina sold goods and supplies to construction workers camping in the vicinity. Eventually, some members of the Kask family, among others, would relocate to other areas of western Canada and USA in pursuit of better employment and a higher education.
| Name | No. of Family Members | Origin | Arrival Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsep, Hendrik | 4 | Võrumaa | 1899 |
| Kingsep, Kristjan | 7 | Võrumaa | 1899 |
| Kask, Jaan | 1 | Saaremaa | 1900 |
| Piht, Peter | ? | Saaremaa | 1900 |
| Piht, Mihkel | ? | Saaremaa | 1900 |
| Herman, Peeter | ? | Saaremaa | 1901 |
| Kask, Anton | ? | Saaremaa | 1901 |
| Kask, Alex | ? | Saaremaa | 1901 |
| Oru, Juhan | 2 | Nurmekunde | 1901 |
| Rahu, Mihkel | ? | Nurmekunde | 1901 |
| Neithal, Juhan | ? | Nurmekunde | 1901 |
| Kask, Johan | ? | Saaremaa | 1901 |
| Herman, John | ? | Saaremaa | 1902 |
| Wall, Madis | 2 | Saaremaa | 1902 |
| Wall, Gustav | ? | Saaremaa | ? |
| Posti, August | 4 | Tartumaa | 1902 |
| Kinna, Hendrik | 1 | Võrumaa | 1902 |
| Vaartnõu, Mihkel | ? | Nurmekunde | 1901 |
| Tipman, Magnus | 6 | Nurmekunde | 1902 |
| Tipman, Juhan | ? | Nurmekunde | 1902 |
| Tipman, Joosep | ? | Nurmekunde | 1904 |
| Editor's Note: This list was compiled by Voldemar Matiisen. | |||
Additional information can be found in History - Alberta Estonian Settlements - Sylvan Lake and Medicine Valley
