Key Number:	HS 81404
Site Name:	George Pegg Homestead and Botanic Garden
Other Names:
Site Type:	0420 - Mercantile/Commercial: Botanical Garden or Park

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			56	4	5

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Media

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Architectural

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Exterior:	N/A
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Environment:	12.68 ac
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Alterations:	N/A

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Ended	1913/01/01 1940/01/01
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History:	The botanic garden was established by George Pegg on the original homestead of the Pegg family which settled there in 1913. George Pegg made a very significant contribution to the fields of Botany and Horticulture in Alberta by identifying any new species and introducing many new and attractive exotic species of plants to the Province via the garden. (Notice of Intention, May 1992)   *  *  * RESOURCE                          George Pegg Homestead and Botanic Garden ADDRESS                              SW 3-56-4-W5M, north of Glenevis BUILT                                     1913 to 1940 DESIGNATION STATUS        Provincial Historic Resource   HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE   George Pegg was born in 1910 in Ontario, the second of eight children.   His father was a newly settled immigrant from London England, his mother, a Torontonian.   In the year George was born, they decided to sell up and head out west with a group of settlers who planned to invest in a large Alberta ranch.   However, after a disastrous crop failure in their first year, members of the group found themselves with no financial reserve and so the families went their separate ways.   George’s parents started a homestead in the district that is now Glenevis in 1913.     Opportunities for schooling were minimal and George and his brother Fred found entertainment in the unbroken woodlands that stretched for miles around the homestead.   At the age of twelve George was impressed by a flyer distributed by a Toronto lumber company, illustrating birdhouse construction and sketches of common songbirds.   This led to his interest and dedicated study of birds in the region.   He and Fred purchased the 380-page “Birds of Western Canada” for 75 cents.   Between farm chores, George would also try to identify the wild plants of the countryside and purchased “Wild Flowers of Western Canada” by Alberta photographer and botanist, William Copeland McCalla, c1920, and thus gained an exceptional appreciation of the surrounding wildlife.   He left home in 1934 and for the next six years, worked his way across Canada and the United States, all the while observing flora and fauna and identifying birds and plants. In 1945 George decided that there should be some meteorological record established in his area and purchased equipment that allowed him to take official precipitation and temperature records for Glenevis.   He did this for almost 40 years.   By the 1950’s George had settled into the life of a confirmed bachelor, farming his land and interesting himself in his garden collection of native and introduced plants.   George continued his self-education and accumulated an impressive library to help with his botanical avocation.   He also joined a number of botanical and natural history societies.   It was also in the mid 1950’s that George set about systematically collecting the weeds of the local county of Lac Ste. Anne, identifying most and pressing the plants as herbarium specimens to serve as a record of his observations.   He developed close ties with Dr. Ezra Moss, Head of the Botany Department at the University of Alberta and collaborated with him on ensuing papers and publications.   George Pegg died February 3, 1988 at the age of 77 years.   The site is an example of Alberta’s rich heritage of those who held a life-long interest in plants.   The impact of this sustained interest has led to increased scientific knowledge. Mr. Pegg’s notable achievement was in the area of plant taxonomy.   He identified and collected indigenous trees, shrubs, and herbaceous species not only in the Glenevis, Lac Ste Anne and Whitecourt areas but also wherever he travelled.   Directly through his efforts of identifying plants, observing their habitat and noting their distribution, the Flora of Alberta was expanded by more than one hundred species.   The garden presents an unusual collection of both indigenous and exotic plant species in a pastoral and sheltered setting.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource	1992/08/08

Register:	N/A

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-0811