Written by During a February 2019 cold spell in Central Alberta I travelled east of Edmonton, Alberta to paint along the historic Victoria Trail, one of my favourite painting areas during the 1980s and 1990s .
The founding of Victoria Settlement in the early 1860s and the Hudson’s Bay Company post at Fort Victoria (now Pakan) soon after, resulted in a significant amount of travel on the trail between these locations and Fort Edmonton. Along this historic path, which became known as the Victoria Trail, numerous stopping houses were established. Operated mainly by farmers to generate supplementary income, these facilities offered travellers shelter for the night and occasionally provided meals and other goods and services needed on long overland journeys. Stopping houses often became important local commercial and social centres. – source: Alberta Register of Historic Places, Alberta Culture and Tourism, Historic Resources Management Branch
