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Chapter X Conclusion In the introduction to this study, the question posed was how typical was the history of the Victoria settlement compared to that of early prairie settlement as a whole. The problem was not easily solved and the solution necessitated, at times, a tedious analysis of the community's transition from Methodist mission to Hudson's Bay Company fur trade outpost to small rural service centre. However, once the complexities of these periods were unravelled, the answer was readily apparent. Victoria was in many ways a representative example of most pre-railway prairie settlements during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The process by which the Methodists established themselves at Victoria was basically an extension of that followed in eastern Canada and the Red River district. Concern that the word of God be taken to the native population was always uppermost in their minds, and as George and John McDougall ventured west in 1862 - 1863, such thoughts were quickly transformed into actions. Complementing the Methodist desire to bring Christianity to the Indians was their wish that sedentary farming replace the nomadic way of life. Whether rightly or wrongly, at the Victoria mission, the McDougalls were insistent that the pursuit of agricultural was the first step in a long and difficult process of "civilizing" the native population. The record of the Hudson's Bay Company at Victoria was equally in keeping with teh established policy and guidelines of operation. When teh Company opened the post in 1864, the quantity and quality of fur-bearing animals was still significant and the local Cree Indians who frequented teh McDougall mission were more than willing to exchange the hides for the customary outlay of goods. As the natives abandoned their normadic habits and as the trapping areas became depleted of animals, the Hudson's Bay Company quite naturally lost interest in the post. Temporary closure in 1883 was the first indication of the trend towards declining business, and as circumstances failed to improve, it was but a short fourteen years before Fort Victoria was permanently abandoned in 1897 - 1898. To judge by the ultimate decline of the Victoria/Pakan settlement in the 1920s, it would appear that a peculiar set of circumstances had been (start of page 160) at work undermining the community's economic base. Yet for sixty years the settlement survived and to a certain extent thrived. How can this inconsistency be explained? The answer lies in the fact that the railway, basically a 20th century phenomenon in northeastern Alberta, spelled the end as well as the beginning for many rural prairie settlements. Unfortunately for Victoria, it must be relegated to the former category. But this in no way detracts from the fact that the elements which caused its decline were at work in many other rural settlements as well. Today, little remains of the Victoria settlement. The Hudson's Bay Company Clerk's residence and the 1906 Pakan Methodist Church are the sole reminders of a once interesting and colourful past. But its history has neither been ignored nor forgotten. This study is proof of that. In addition, the Alberta Government has purchased the site of the H.B.C. fort and is now in the process of restoring the one remaining building. And hopefully those who read this work and visit the site will become more aware of Alberta's rich and varied past.
Return to the Index of Les Hurt's Occasional Paper 7
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