The Peace River District

The Great Agricultural Sections

The Crown lands and natural resources of the Peace River district included
within the boundaries of the province of Alberta and the Peace River block of
British Columbia are the property of the Government of Canada. They are
controlled by the various branches of the Department of the Interior at Ottawa.
To expedite transaction of official business, this vast district has been divided
into land districts, each provided with local offices. Government agents are
stationed at these offices to give immediate attention to the disposal of Dominion
lands, the control of Crown timber, and the recording of mineral claims.

The Peace River Land district extends from the fifth principal meridian
westerly to the British Columbia boundary. Its southern boundary follows the
line between townships 84 and 85 across ranges 1 to 3, between townships 68 and
69 across ranges 4 to 20, and between townships 73 and 74 across ranges 21 to 26
west of the fifth meridian. West of the sixth meridian its southern boundary is
the Peace river. Its northern boundary extends to the northerly limit of the
province of Alberta. This district also includes that part of the Peace River
block lying north of the river. The agency is located in the town of Peace River
with sub-agencies at Fort St. John and North Vermilion.

Grande Prairie Land district includes townships 61 to 73, inclusive, from
range 21 west of the fifth meridian to the sixth meridian. From the sixth
meridian it extends westerly to the British Columbia boundary, and northerly
from township 61 to the Peace river. It also includes that part lying south of
Peace river of the Peace River block. The agency is located in the town of
Grande Prairie, with sub-agencies at Spirit River and Pouce Coupé.

The tide of settlement to these districts has set in practically within the last
ten years. Prior to that, only a few scattered pioneers could be found about the
various trading posts. The attractions of the district, however, and the
unbounded faith of its pioneers gradually drew the attention of the outside
world, and home seekers began to make their way in over the long, trying trail
from Edmonton. Undaunted by such hardships, they blazed the way for others
to follow and pressed forward to secure the choicest locations. Surveyors were
rushed into the district to lay out the lands, and before the outbreak of the
Great War, various localities of particular attraction had become thriving centres
of settlement.

Even during the period of war, the rush of settlement continued. Immigra-
tion from Europe having been suspended, the district received its new-comers
almost entirely from older-settled parts of Canada and various States of the
adjoining Republic. Many returned soldiers are now finding their way into the
district to locate new homes for themselves. The opening of a railway and
extension of navigation have made the way easier during the last two or three
years.