Francophone Settlement - Guy, Alberta
Posted by: 
wildwoodke
N 55° 28.643 W 117° 07.869
11U E 491710 N 6147924
This Alberta Heritage Marker speaks of the numerous Francophone settlements and settling of this area near Guy, Alberta.
Waymark Code: WM9E57
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/08/2010
Views: 4
Text from the Marker...
Francophone Settlement
To the north of us for the next 50 km lies a land that was settled primarily by people of French origin during the early 20th century. In May 1912, Father Henri Giroux first led a party of “colons” from Quebec to a site just south of Donnelly, where they took up land as homesteaders. In the years that followed, others from Quebec and the northeastern United States followed them until the entire district was predominantly French. Father Giroux, an Oblate priest, was a colonizing agent for the federal government, and was ably assisted in his endeavours by Father Constant Falher.
Evidence of the Francophone origins of this district is still strong. You may witness it by visiting any of the communities between McLennan and Eaglesham and north to Peace River. In Donnelly, the library and archives of the Smoky River Genealogical & Historical Society contains a wealth of information on the early settlers, whose stories are also revealed by the many articfacts in the Musée Girouxville. Two km south of Falher, the restored 1914 St. Jean-Baptiste Mission is a Registered Historic Resource.