Old Vegreville Celebrates 125 Years

Old Vegreville Celebrates 125 Years

Former students of the Old Vegreville School; Walter Polutranko, Pat Febrouski, Roseann Febrouski, Laura Hughes, Rose Hook, Gordon Miller. Centre Phyllis Dubuc, front row left to right Roy Baxandall and Lorna Hoggins.

Emily Mailhot Reporter – Vegreville News Advertiser

Over 100 people looked back to the very beginning of Vegreville at the 125th-anniversary celebration for the settlement of Old Vegreville held at Old Vegreville School on Saturday, July 20. The day began with a blessing of the graves at the cemetery, then continued on with a social gathering, opportunity to learn more about the history of Old Vegreville, and a potluck luncheon with presentations.

Al Robert, a long-time member of the Old Vegreville Social Society, shared the story of the location’s long history.

In 1894, the original settlers of Old Vegreville consisted of French-speaking people who moved back from a failed, drought-stricken settlement in Kansas. After returning to Quebec to regroup, then made their way west to the “garden of Vegreville.”

back to Edmonton to register the town, then returned to seed crops. By that fall, the farmers saw their first harvest.

As the west continued to draw in farmers and businessmen from eastern Canada, the United States, and Europe, the town grew quickly and even had two banks, two liveries, a general store, a school, and two churches. When the post office was registered, the town was named after Father Vegreville, in honour of the Jesuit priests from St. Albert who helped to settle the area.

In spite of all this success, the town came to a crossroads in 1905; as Alberta came into its own as a province, the railroad came through with the promise of economic growth, they packed up the whole town and moved North to rebuild Vegreville along the railroad tracks. The local businessmen were excited to move, and the two bank managers even raced to the new location, to see who could move their bank first.

“It’s funny,” Robert commented, “Back then, they were in such a hurry to get to the railroad… I wonder how many current townspeople wake up in the middle of the night listening to train whistles, and wish that they hadn’t.”

The Old Vegreville School was used until the 1950s. The building as it stands today was rebuilt in 1938 after the old log schoolhouse burnt down. Since classes stopped, the building has been used as the home base of the Social Society and a community centre for card parties and other social events.

Also in recent memory, the original graveyard, restored and re-registered by the Robert family, stands well-maintained and remote, with some plots even having been purchased in the modern-day. “About half of the original graves were for children,” explained Alan Robert, “This was because of the illnesses that were rampant at the time.”

This discovery was made during the process of using old records to replace the original wooden headstones with new stone ones as the site was being restored.

The monument that houses a statue of St. Joseph holding the Child Jesus is set to be rebuilt in the near future, as the original wooden frame has suffered from water damage. Presentations from the Mayor of Vegreville, Tim MacPhee, and County of Minburn Councillor, Carl Ogrodnick, highlighted some of the importance of remembering our history. After these speeches, the Old Vegreville Society was presented with a plaque from the County and a certificate from Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jackie Armstrong-Homeniuk, in honour of the milestone anniversary.