Athabasca - A Country with a Past

Athabasca Landing

Before the explorers and fur traders, nomadic bands of Athapaskan and Cree Indians travelled on the Athabasca River and through the area.

In the late 18th century, the development of the fur trade in Western Canada created keen competition for trade routes. The North West Company's David Thompson ventured up the Athabasca River in May 1799, and Peter Fidler, working for the rival Hudson's Bay Company, followed overland on Thompson's heels in January 1800.

People at Athabasca Landing

Despite the early discovery of the Athabasca River as a trade route, its importance as a stepping stone to Canada's North remained unrecognized until the 1870s. The Athabasca landing Trail, carved from the wilderness by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1875-76, created Athabasca Landing and the age of steamboat traffic on the Athabasca River.

Athabasca Fur Trade

From 1875 to 1914, Athabasca Landing grew in importance as a distribution centre for goods shipped overland along the Athabasca Landing Trail, then north by scow or steamboat-downriver for the Mackenzie River, and upriver through Lesser Slave Lake for the Peace River. The trail played a vital role in building and sustaining the north and for almost 40 years was Canada's busiest northern route.

In 1912, the arrival of the railroad in Athabasca signalled the end of the trail's importance, and from 1914 to 1920, other railroad development to the north changed the town's role as a transportation centre. The flood of settlers who arrived between 1908 and 1914 transformed Athabasca into an agricultural and service centre, a role that continues today.

The development of natural gas fields in the area during the 1950s brought new growth, and the arrival of Athabasca University in 1984 resulted in major economic, cultural, and social development.

Athabasca in 1911

Today, Athabasca continues to be the business and recreation hub for more than 10,000 people living in an area of 15,000 square kilometres.