On This Spot

07/30/2024

If you need a reason for a weekend drive in the Sunshine, We've got you covered.
The On This Spot App has released our Driving Tour. Starting at the Visitor Information Center, with stops at the Provost Museum, the Rosenheim St. Norbert's Church, and Bodo Archeological Site.
The best part of the driving Tours is the Interviews you will to listen to while driving.
Louise Schug and all her Passion for the Rosenheim Church will make you want to visit!!

The Audio Driving Tours is live now, you can view it at:

https://onthisspot.ca/cities/provost/districtdrive

There's also the virtual tour at https://onthisspot.ca/virtual/provost

St. Norbert's Church, Rosenheim
On This Spot

07/30/2024

05/18/2024

Thanks for the shoutout! We hope people enjoy our walking tour of the village at Brilliant by Castlegar!

04/30/2024

02/29/2024

Check out this wonderful tour we developed with the Sidney Museum and the Sidney By The Sea BIA!

The Story of SET,TINES

06/29/2023

Stonewall, ca. 1930s & Now

This is part of the tour Quarry Park: Exploring Stonewall's Industrial Past.

1. 450 Million Years in the Making

This photo shows three limestone kilns towering over the quarry. Today, these structures and the deformed landscape provide a hint as to what the land was used for over a century ago, when it was a hub of activity - sounds ranging from the scraping of shovels to the whirring of industrial equipment were commonplace.

This park helps to tell a story that should be known to all who visit Stonewall and especially the generations of people who call it home: these quarries, for generations, were the economic lifeblood of the community and are the primary reason the town was founded.

Our story begins with the earth itself, and the rich deposits of red limestone that lie beneath your feet. Those rocks have their own fascinating tale stretching back some 450 million years.

It might be difficult to imagine, but if you were standing here 450 million years ago, you'd be on the edge of a great ocean. This was the Ordovician Period, and the climate was much warmer then; the sea level was as much as 125 metres higher than it is today. That ancient ocean teemed with bizarre forms of life: armoured fish with monstrous toothless jaws, giant bug-like trilobites that scuttled across the seabed, and strange colonies of worm-like corals.

In the earth's past, ecosystems have persevered for tens of millions of years, a span of time so long it is difficult for the human mind to grasp. Over that whole time, millions of generations of life lived and died and carpeted the floor with their organic remains. Over time they combined with silicates and were compacted under the weight of later generations of life. Eventually they were pressed deep into the earth where they were heated up and broken down into fine grains. Eventually those grains solidified
into limestone.

Variations of this process are how many sedimentary rocks and minerals are formed. Looking at geology today can tell us much about the ecosystems that existed on that spot eons ago. Coal is formed from the compressed remains of forests. Oil comes from the bacteria-sized plants and animals--algae and zooplankton--that lived in oceans.

However, the formation of limestone is a little bit different: it is primarily made from calcium carbonate; the material that oysters, clams, mussels, and corals use to make their shells, as well as the bones of sea creatures.

The shellfish-beds at the edge of the ocean 450 million years ago, combined with clay, created all the red limestone you see around you today. The limestone around Stonewall still contains the fossilized skeletons of some of these creatures. These were considered noteworthy enough to merit a site visit by the International Congress of Geologists in 1913, who travelled from a conference in Toronto to view them and were reportedly very impressed.

The first Indigenous people probably came to this place around 14,000 years ago, a much, much smaller span of time that is still so far in the past that it is difficult for the human mind to grasp. They found a ridge of limestone that rose above the surrounding countryside. Numerous trails on and around the ridge show how frequently Indigenous peoples passed through this area. When Europeans came to this place some 150 years ago, the Indigenous told them they called the ridge "Thunder Hill."

Take the full tour at https://onthisspot.ca/cities/stonewall/quarry

Stonewall: Turning a Century, Plate 42 & On This Spot

06/28/2023

Okotoks, 1906 & Now

Morrison House

James J. Morrison built this Queen Anne-style house at 106 McRae Street for his bride, Ethel, in 1906.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/okotoks

Photo Credit: Okotoks Archives F64f1p4 & On This Spot

06/26/2023

Montreal, 1884 & Now

Horses in Cartier Square

Horses yolked to a cart munch on some hay during a market day in Cartier Square. The Square was named for Jacques Cartier after the French explorer who claimed Canada for France in 1535.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/montreal

Photo Credit: McCord Museum VIEW-1487 & On This Spot

06/25/2023

Quebec City, 1885 & Now

Cote de la Montagne

Looking down Cote de la Montagne towards the Lower Town.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/quebeccity

Photo Credit: McCord Museum VIEW-1284.1 & On This Spot

06/24/2023

Vulcan, 1927 & Now

Tornado Overhead

In this dramatic picture the sky is blackened by the tornado that has just ripped through downtown Vulcan. This photo was snapped by a photographer standing in the middle of Centre Street. You can see at left the distinctive cupola of the

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/vulcan

Photo Credit: Vulcan & District Historical Society P-019-000942 & On This Spot

06/23/2023

Okotoks, 1928 & Now

Spanish Revival-style

This Spanish Revival residence, located at 37 Elma Street West, was built at the end of a mini
construction boom in Okotoks in the 1920s. It is the only residence of this architectural style in Okotoks.
The Willingdon Hotel, built in 1928, is the only other building in town constructed in the Spanish Revival
style.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/okotoks

Photo Credit: Okotoks Archives F1f8p53 & On This Spot

06/22/2023

Ottawa, 1894 & Now

Parliament Hill Bluffs

A view of the bluffs of Parliament Hill from Victoria Island

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/ottawa

Photo Credit: Library & Archives Canada No. 3422972 & On This Spot

06/21/2023

Montreal, 1907 & Now

View to the Southeast

A view of Montreal towards the southeast.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/montreal

Photo Credit: McCord Museum Musee McCord M2003.28.1 & On This Spot

06/20/2023

Penticton, 1907 & Now

View from Vancouver Hill

This view of Penticton was taken in 1907 from Vancouver Hill, looking northwest towards the Okanagan Lake. The Penticton hotel is on the far right on the photo, with the Welby Barn to the left of it, and the town laid out beyond.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/penticton

Photo Credit: Okanagan Archive Trust Society PEN 185 & On This Spot

06/19/2023

On this Juneteenth, we honour Southwest Ontario's Black Community and their journey to freedom.

Did you know over 20,000 persons of colour sought refuge in Canada West (now called Ontario) by 1860? They traveled through the Underground Railroad, a network of escape routes and safe houses. While prejudice persisted, Southwest Ontario became home to settlements for people of colour, defying misconceptions and showing that former slaves could build prosperous lives.

In honour of Juneteenth we share this collection of stories and driving tours and encourage you to reflect.

By 1860, over 20,000 Blacks could be found in Canada West, most of whom had left the United States in order to escape either slavery or the restrictive life free Blacks were forced to lead even in the northern states in the years before the Civil War. While the free Blacks could emigrate on their ow...

06/18/2023

Stonewall, ca. 1920s & Now

Smoking Kilns

Smoking kilns stand behind stacks of wood and some of the out buildings for the quarries.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/stonewall

Photo Credit: Stonewall Quarry Park Archives & On This Spot

06/16/2023

Edmonton, 1920 & Now

This is part of the tour The End of the Line: The Early History of Strathcona.

6. Fire Hall No. 1

Completed in 1910, Strathcona Fire Hall No. 1 is the oldest major fire hall in Alberta. Though modern fire trucks have outgrown the building, we can still see the large doors that once housed Strathcona's cutting-edge horse-drawn fire engines. When Edmonton and Strathcona combined, Firehall No. 1 became Firehall No. 6 and continued to serve the district of Strathcona until the 1950s.

Fire was an ever-present danger on the prairie. Early Alberta towns consisted of tightly packed and hastily constructed wooden buildings illuminated by oil lamps. Carelessly dropping a lantern could set a whole commercial block--or even a whole town--aflame, so it's hardly surprising that fires were commonplace. After the first wave of settlement and town-building in the 1890s, the threat of fire immediately became apparent, and communities like Strathcona raced to establish volunteer fire brigades (only later becoming professional) who could respond at a moment's notice.

Strathcona initially had a volunteer fire station on this site. When Strathcona incorporated as a city in 1907, the new city council decided Strathcona should have a more permanent and fireproof character. As one of their first regulations, they deemed all new public buildings had to be made of brick or stone. Nevertheless, that didn't account for most of the old wooden buildings, such as the water tower that used to stand behind the volunteer fire hall. In 1909, the Strathcona Chronicle reported:

"The fire which started shortly after noon yesterday in the water tower completely destroyed the wood casting of the tower from the bottom to the top and left nothing but a blackened skeleton of the iron work of the tower."

By 1910, it was decided a real brick fire hall was necessary, and the result was Strathcona Fire Hall No. 1 in front of you. Once amalgamation occurred it was demoted to Edmonton Fire Hall No. 6 and fulfilled its role until 1954, when it became a storage building. Finally, in 1974, it was purchased by the Walterdale Theatre Group and became a playhouse, a purpose it has served ever since.

Take the full tour at https://onthisspot.ca/cities/edmonton/strathcona

Edmonton Archives EA-10-1000 & On This Spot

06/14/2023

Stonewall, ca. 1910s & Now

A Quarry Town

The Stonewall land title’s office was built with stone from the town’s quarry. Completed in 1912 we can see one of Stonewall’s most prominent buildings decorated in British flags.

See more like this: https://onthisspot.ca/cities/stonewall

Photo Credit: Stonewall: Turning a Century, Plate 46 & On This Spot