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Bugnet Plantation
Rich Valley, Near
Other Names:
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Bugnet Orchard
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Bugnet Plantation is comprised of human-made and natural features reflecting the life and work of horticulturalist Georges Bugnet. The site includes building foundations, pathways and archaeological deposits associated with Bugnet as well as a varied collection of plants, trees, and shrubs cultivated by Bugnet. The site consists of approximately 5 hectares of land, approximately 1.5 kilometres north-west of the hamlet of Rich Valley in Lac Ste. Anne County.
Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Bugnet Plantation lies in its association with Georges Bugnet, a pioneering horticulturalist and renowned French-Canadian author who lived in north-central Alberta.
Georges Bugnet was born in Burgundy, France in 1879 and settled on his homestead near Rich Valley in 1905. Bugnet’s remarkable achievements in introducing and cross-breeding plants established him as one of Alberta’s premier horticulturalists in the first half of the twentieth century. He sought out seeds from botanical institutions around the world, as well as young plant cuttings from different parts of Canada that he thought could grow in Alberta’s unforgiving climate. After growing them, he carefully selected those with the best growth performance and winter-hardiness. He was able to produce even hardier varietals through hybridization and sent his most successful conifers and shrubs to nurseries around the province, some of which were used in the Alberta Shelterbelt Program. He was most successful with a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris `Ladoga’) and eleven varieties of rose, most famously Rosa `Thérèse Bugnet’ (named after his sister). The extant plant species on the site most strongly associated with Bugnet’s work include the Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris, all provenances) and Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa, all provenances), both designated as “Alberta Trees of Renown,” and two varieties of Sweetberry honeysuckle (Lonicera caerulea `Julia Bugnet’ and `George Bugnet’). Although Bugnet’s role in its origin are unclear, the Siberian crabapple (cf. Malus baccata) is also of note because it has notable differences from other Siberian crabapple trees in Alberta.
The Bugnet Plantation is further significant as the site of George Bugnet’s literary career. During his time in Alberta, Bugnet wrote three novels, several short stories and multiple essays, all of which were deeply influenced and inspired by the Alberta landscape and natural environment. His 1934 novel La forêt (The Forest) tells the story of a young French couple attempting to wrest a living from the western Canadian wilderness. La forêt is widely considered to be one of the best western Canadian novels of the 1930s and is regarded as an important early example of realism in Canadian literature. Bugnet also contributed to the growth of francophone culture in Alberta through his editorial work with the French-Canadian weekly newspaper, l'Union, his membership in l'Association Catholique Franco-Albertaine, and his publication of stories and poems in a wide variety of French periodicals and newspapers. Bugent continued to write until 1966 and he is now recognized as one of the premier French writers of western Canada.
Source: Alberta Culture and Status of Women, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: DES 0575 )
Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Bugnet Plantation include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Plantation lanes, trails and gates;
- foundations of Bugnet’s house;
- undiscovered archaeological artifacts associated with Bugnet’s occupancy and use of the plantation;
- variety, number, layout and placement of flora;
- windbreaks and rows of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) that Bugnet acquired from various countries with similar climates to Alberta; and
- extant botanical elements cultivated by Bugnet including varieties of pine, fir and spruce trees; fruit-bearing shrubs such as highbush cranberry, honeysuckle and elderberry; as well as varieties of rose, orchids and lilies.
Location
| Street Address: |
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| Community: |
Rich Valley, Near |
| Boundaries: |
Lot 1, Plan 9323346 |
| Contributing Resources: |
N/A
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
5
5
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3
3
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56
56
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28
28
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10 (ptn.)
9 (ptn.)
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
9323346
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1
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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53.871262 |
-114.383272 |
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UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Province of Alberta |
| Designation Status: |
Provincial Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
1987/06/15 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
N/A |
| Period of Significance: |
1905 to 1954 |
| Theme(s): |
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Learning and the Arts
Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Science
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| Historic Function(s): |
Food Supply : Horticultural Facility or Site
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| Current Function(s): |
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| Architect: |
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
Bugnet's contributions to botany, literature, and French-Canadian culture in Alberta were recognized late in his life through such honours as an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Alberta, a Certificate of Honorary Membership from the Western Canadian Society for Horticulture, and a Certificate of Achievement Award from the Alberta Government. The French government also recognized Bugnet's work by making him a Chevalier dans l'Order des Palmes Academiques (Knight in the Order of Academic Triumphs). |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4665-0392 |
| Designation File: |
DES 0575 |
| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
HS 20773
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 575) |
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