Nose Creek, Alberta One Place Study

Date: 1792 to 1960
Location: Nose Creek, Alberta
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Alberta

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Contents 1 Nose Creek, Alberta One Place Study 1.1 Name 1.2 One Study Goals 1.3 Geography 1.4 Profiles of Nose Creek Residents 1.5 History 1.6 Recent History 1.7 Population 2 Sources 2.1 See Also

Nose Creek, Alberta One Place Study

• Official Website
• Wikidata: Item , en:Wikipedia
• WikiTree Profiles that link here

Name

Nose Creek was a early pioneer and settler area in Alberta, Canada. The river originates near the northern boundary of Rocky View County and the Town of Crossfield, and flows south through Airdrie and Calgary, joining the Bow River near the Calgary Zoo.

The names Nose Creek and Nose Hill had a unique origin coming from the Blackfoot Indian tribes who frequently camped in the area . It was customary for Indians to give places names according to topographical features. One theory suggests that because the Bow River flows on one side of Nose Hill and Nose Creek on the other that the protrusion of the hill was referred to as an "The Nose". Another myth about the origin of the name suggests that during a whiskey-induced brawl a Blackfoot man bit off the end of a Blackfoot woman's nose. The most likely explanation was given by Frances Fraser, a student of Indian lore, and by George H . Gooderham, former Indian agent to the Blackfoot, that a women who was found to be unfaithful to her husband might have her nose cut off as an example to the others. ^[1]

Historical Nose Creek

One Study Goals

Document the original First Nations Peoples and Settlers.

Geography

Continent: North America

Country: Canada

State/Province: Alberta

GPS Coordinates: 51.2877058, -114.0147985

Elevation: 1048.0 m or 3438.3 feet

Nose Creek blends into the scenic foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Early explorers named the hills along the eastern slopes of the Valley northeast of Balzac "The Butte Hills", which is French for a hill or mound.

Profiles of Nose Creek Residents

List of Nose Creek Residents:  :https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Nose_Creek%2C_Alberta_One_Place_Study

History

Pioneers traveled to the Nose Creek area in 1792 although First Nations peoples had already populated the area. ^[2] The native peoples lived and travelled freely in this area long before immigrants came and settled on particular pieces of land.

Recent History

"Nose Creek originates near the northern boundary of Rocky View County and the Town of Crossfield, and flows south through Airdrie and Calgary, joining the Bow River near the Calgary Zoo." ^[3] In the Calgary portion of the creek where it flows into the Bow River, the beauty of the wide valley was soon ruined by development. (N.B. More photos of the area can be seen by hitting "View All" on the right side of the page.)

Aerial View of Calgary by W. J. Oliver

The following description is from James H. Gray's book Red Lights on the Prairies:

In the early days of settlement the valley of Nose Creek was one of the most beautiful of prairie streams. Once it had been a mighty river a half-mile wide and 100 feet deep. Now reduced to a babbling brook, it meandered through a lush valley where the grass grew waist high from its deep black loam. When the C.P.R. decided to build its branch line to Edmonton in 1891, it took the path of least resistance out of Calgary up the Nose Creek Valley. That was the end of the beauty spot. First a brewery, then a packing plant, a cooperage, and an incinerator discovered that the little stream would make a perfect sewer for their wastes. Around these plants the usual clusters of workmen's house sprang up and it was at the southern edge of the workmen's settlement that the whores from Riverside moved late in the (Chief) English regime. ^[4]

Alan Zakrison discussed Nose Creek on his Facebook site called Old Calgary Sidewalk Stamps:

In 1888, the road around Tom Campbell Hill- then called Nose Creek Hill- was widened to provide better access to travellers on the north side of the river. But otherwise, the confluence of the Nose Creek and Bow River was a quiet and pastoral place until 1890, when crews arrived to begin work on the new Calgary-Edmonton Railway. A wooden bridge over the Bow was built, and tracks were laid on the east side of the meandering creek. The first siding north of the Bow would later be known as “Titian”, and would be sited where the tracks crossed the old trail to Blackfoot Crossing. ^[5]

Businesses began to locate at the Nose Creek-Bow confluence, but they were not the sort that most people would want anywhere near their homes. In 1906, the Dominion Meat Company announced plans for a packing house, and a year later, the Golden West Brewing Company did the same. Associated industries- like abattoirs- followed shortly afterward, and a Winnipeg Oil plant opened at Titian siding in 1911. About 1912, just north of the brewery, a grain elevator was built. Further up the valley were market gardeners, who were mostly of Chinese ancestry. ^[6]

About 1907, brothels first began to appear, since the area was still outside city limits. Many of the prostitutes who established themselves in the Nose Creek environs had moved there from other Calgary communities like the Langevin Bridge area in Riverside, or 6th Ave East downtown. ^[7]

Eventually the city dump was located in this area. But there were still homes nearby. In the 1970's the City began turning the valley into parkland. But only in a certain sense. Deerfoot Trail runs up the east side of the valley. And in the 3rd photograph, one can see the train running through. The Calgary Zoo parking lot and the new Telus Spark Science Centre are located in this area. The McInnis-Holloway Funeral Home established a memorial garden north of 8th Avenue, changing the prairie into a forest. Farther north is the Fox Hollow Golf Course. But at least there is lovely walking trail alongside the creek.

Some of Calgary's earliest settlers established ranches in this area. Mayor George Murdoch's spread would have been around the golf course. This becomes a pretty walking area. But closer to the Bow, the valley became out of sight, out of mind, somewhat beyond the pale until around 1970. There are steep slopes cutting the area off from Mayland Heights on the east and Bridgeland-Riverside to the west. It never was a defined neighborhood like those communities although the children of the area would have gone to school with the children of Bridgeland-Riverside. In 1901 there was a census district called Nose Creek but the area which it encompassed was vast, far beyond the valley, and this one-place study.

Population

Sources

1. ↑ 100 Years of Nose Creek Valley History, Wilk, Stephen. 1997, Calgary, Alberta : Nose Creek Historical Society]
2. ↑ "Nose Creek historical map, 1792-1960", 1960, (CU14027008) by Perry, C. Redvers. Courtesy of Libraries and Cultural Resources Digital Collections, University of Calgary.
3. ↑ Nose Creek Watershed
4. ↑ Gray, James H., Red Lights on the Prairies, Macmillan of Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1971, p. 119
5. ↑ Zakrison, Alan, Nose Creek," (published on Facebook through his site called Old Calgary Sidewalk Stamps) 7 March 2023
6. ↑ Zakrison, Alan, Nose Creek," (published on Facebook through his site called Old Calgary Sidewalk Stamps) 7 March 2023
7. ↑ Zakrison, Alan, Nose Creek," (published on Facebook through his site called Old Calgary Sidewalk Stamps) 7 March 2023

See Also

• Nose Creek Watershed
• Save Nose Creek, Facebook
• Nose Creek Valley Museum

• Alberta Electoral Boundaries Commission (February 2003). "Proposed Electoral Division Areas, Boundaries, and Names for Alberta. Final Report to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta". Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Retrieved April 5, 2023.

• Gray, James H., Red Lights on the Prairies, Macmillan of Canada (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), 1971, p. 119.

• Zakrison, Alan, Nose Creek," (published on Facebook through his site called Old Calgary Sidewalk Stamps) 7 March 2023.

• Laycock Park: https://www.ehcanadatravel.com/alberta/calgary/parks-places/5997-laycock-park.html

• Walker, John R., "Your City," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 30 Sep 1950, p. 4: as found on Newspapers.com. (.... the town planning commission was treated to an edifying discussion of the odors of a Nose Creek abattoir and the merits of horse offal for hogs, all of which had allegedly been contributing to the water pollution....Commission recommended abbatoirs and piggeries move from close proximity to residences...those industries or persons sumping sewage directly into Nose Creek should be forced to obey health laws or move....)

• "Wants Deadline Set," The Calgary Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 9 Jun 1952, Mon, p. 16; as found on Newspapers.com. (Dr. W. H. Hill, city medical officer of health, has asked City Council to decide on a time limit for removal of piggeries from Nose Creek area.)

• "New Incinerator," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 9 Nov 1953, Mon, p. 28; as found on Newspapers.com. (Calgary's new $700,000 garbage incinerator swung into full operation today, and the dumping of refuse at the Old Nose Creek location is ended.... City officials said burning of refuse at the old dump would continue for some time....)

• "Garbage Crews Hiked to Handle Holiday Debris," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 6 Jan 1956, Fri, p. 2; as found on Newspapers.com. (Christmas trees will be buried at old city dump at Nose Creek as well as all garbage north of the Bow River.)

• "Officials and Residents Split on Fill Method," The Calgary Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 28 Dec 1956, Fri, p. 3; as found on Newspapers.com. (Photos by Jack DeLorme showing before and after pictures of Nose Creek.)

• "Garbage Poser for Calgary Council," The Calgary Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 23 Oct 1957, Wed, p. 1; as found on Newspapers.com: (240 tons a week are being dumped at Nose Creek; at end of the reclamation valuable land will be available for development.)

• "Canning Plant Blaze, Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 4 Jul 1958, Fri, p. 1; as found on Newspapers.com. (Pet food canning factory at one time a city incinerator.)

• "Residents Protest Nose Creek Dump," The Calgary Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 24 Nov 1959, Tue, p. 2; as found on Newspapers.com. (The debate concluded with a film showing how garbage becomes parkland, and hence an asset to any locality.)

• "Province Asked to Rescind Order," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 8 July 1960, Fri, p. 23; as found on Newspapers.com. (Dr. A. Somerville, deputy minister of health, says city dump operations within 500 yards of residences, violates provincial regulations. The Bridgeland-Riverside Renfrew Ratepayers Association was trying to block Nose Creek landfill but new city incinerator has limited capacity. Only a few houses affected, says Mayor.)

• Anderson, Merv, "Your City," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 19 Nov 1960, Sat, p. 4; as found on Newspapers.com. (Calgary taxpayers have a stake in the continuing controversy over sanitary land fill operations at Nose Creek.)

• "Leslie Rebuke Issued to City," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 13 Jun 1967, Tue, p. 34: as found on Newspapers.com. (Commissioner Strong conceded the Nose Creek site was poor advertising for the benefits of sanitary land fill.)

• "Nose Creek Open Sewer, Mayor Says," Calgary Herald (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 27 Jan 1976, Tue, p. 18; as found on Newspapers.com. (Council votes to continue negotiations with Airdrie and the province to build a proposed sewage pipeline to reduce flow of raw sewage from the town into Nose Creek.)

• "Nose Creek Garbage Site To Be Park," Calgary Herald" (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) 17 Oct 1967, Tue, p. 31; as found on Newspapers.com. (The 23-acre site has swallowed more than 500,000 tons of the city's garbage in the past 10 years, as well as more than 150,000 tons of dirt fill.)