Key Number:	HS 26295
Site Name:	Hay Lakes Telegraph Station
Other Names:
Site Type:	1203 - Communications: Telegraph Station or Building 1315 - Governmental: Monument, Cairn or Statue

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			48	21	4

Address:
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Other:
Town:
Near Town:	Hay Lakes

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

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Exterior:	N/A
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	N/A
Condition:	By 1894, the station was a decaying old log cabin, and today a cairn, erected in 1960, marks the place. Heritage Monument. Marked by a cairn. Inscription: 'Established in 1877 by James McKernan, this station was the farthest west on the telegraph line which ran along the proposed railway right-of-way. When, in 1879 the line was extended to Fort Edmonton, this station was abandoned. They Hay Lakes Cart trail from the plains to Edmonton passed this site.'
Alterations:	N/A

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Telegraph station constructed	1876/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Telegraph office Telegraph station fully functional Telegraph Station abondoned	1877/01/01 1877/01/01 1879/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Province of Alberta	1962/04/10

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Hay Lakes telegraph station became the western terminus of the Dominion telegraph Co. with the completion of the line from Battleford to Hay Lakes in Nov. 1876. The additional trunk was not used until a year after its completion, the first message being sent on Nov. 20, 1877 by Mr. James McKernan. Mr. McKernan was not an operator, he was contracted to service the line, though he sent and received messages for government officials and the North West Mounted Police, for example. In 1879 an operator Alex Taylor ws sent to Hay Lakes, only to go to Edmonton a few months later when the line was extended there. The Hay Lakes station was then abandoned as a transmission center, though the cabin may have continued to be used for a short time as a repair station. Hay Lakes station symbolically represents the coming of a growing technology in communications which has greatly influenced Alberta's development. * * * Hay Lakes Telegraph Station and the Dominion Telegraph Of all the events that profoundly changed the North West Territories the coming of the railway ranks first. To prepare the way for the railway and settlers, the North West Mounted Police ranks first place. Second in this settlement preparatory role was the building of the telegraph line from Winnipeg to Fort Edmonton, a distance of approximately 1,000 miles. In 1874 the North West Mounted Police made their epic trek across the Western plains of what is now Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Soon they established posts at Fort Macleod (1874) Fort Calgary (1875) and Fort Saskatchewan (1875). In order to keep in touch with this force a telegraph line was a necessity. Also, a first step to building a railway across the newly formed Dominion of Canada was the erection of a telegraph line. In 1874 contracts were entered into to build various sections of a line from the Great Lakes to connect with the Telegraph System of British Columbia. In 1874 a contract with Sifton, Glass Fleming, of Winnipeg, was made to construct a telegraph line and clear a path 132 ft. wide from Selkirk to Livingston, or Swan River. The contract for the second part of the line was awarded to Richard Fuller of Hamilton, Ontario, to construct a line from Swan River (which for a short time was the headquarters of the North West Mounted Police) to Battleford and thence to a point near where Leduc now stands. This line followed the original survey of the Canadian Pacific Railway keeping South of the North Saskatchewan River and passed Fort Edmonton by. The western section of the telegraph line was completed late in 1876. No offices were opened west of Battleford that year. No use was made of the western portion from Battleford until Mr. Fuller entered into a contract with James McKernan (the founder of this station) to maintain the line from a point 30 miles west of Battleford to the line's western terminus. Mr. McKernan (his brother Robert selected Grizzly Bear Coulee as his headquarters) settled at Hay Lakes about 30 miles east of the terminus. Here James McKernan received and sent messages, although his contract was only for the maintenance of the line. Mr. McKernan had been one of the original members of the North West Mounted Police when it was organized in 1873. In 1879, Mr. McKernan notified Mr. Fuller that he would do no more operating, but would only maintain the line, as his contract only called for maintenance of the line. Alex Taylor was sent out to be operator at Hay Lakes, and when a few months later the line was extended to Fort Edmonton, Mr. Taylor became the operator in the J. Walter House (marked by a provincial cairn) on the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River across from Fort Edmonton. The linemen were true western pioneers, with only a buckboard they constantly patroled 100 or more miles of line each, repairing damages to the line. The line was often out because of Spring and Autumn prairie fires, poles were used by buffalo for rubbing posts and consequently knocked down. The line was used for ordinary communications of business and greetings; it was also used for a number of unusual purposes such as long distance checker playing. Medical advice travelled over the line free of charge - a great aid to those who couldn't get to a doctor, because doctors were not too plentiful in those days. News of the world and eastern Canada travelled to Fort Edmonton via the telegraph. After the Riel Rebellion the route of the line was substantially changed. Heritage Significance: The Hay Lakes station was probably constructed in 1876 when the western section of the line was being strung. The station was not functional until Nov. 20 1877 when Major Jarvis of Fort Saskatchewan transmitted the first message over this section of the line from Hay Lakes to Col. Walker in Battleford. Mr. James McKernan was the first official repairman at Hay Lakes and the first unofficial operator. He maintained the line between the western terminous and Grizzly Bear Coulee. In 1879, Mr. J. McKernan was replaced by Alex Taylor. He may have remained as repairman. After an office was established in Edmonton in 1879 it is likely that few messages were transmitted from Hay Lakes. It was used as a repairman's hut.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource	1976/06/15

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-0233