History can be found in many Peace Country places. The region contains numerous museums, archives, libraries, and historic sites. All can contribute to an appreciation of our history.
Museums are places where you can see and learn about historical objects. They all have a story to tell. Some you may have used or heard about. Others will be a mystery, but one worth solving.
The majority of museums in the Peace Country belong to a network called the Spirit of the Peace. Once you arrive at the website, check out the different museum for details.
Archives are places that contain historical documents, photographs, and maps. These have been donated to the archives by families, commercial enterprises, and industry. The items contain history in such things as letters, diaries, price lists, brochures, maps, business documents, and pictures. The archives usually contain the region’s local history books as well. Staff are available to help you use the archives. The two larger archives in the region are:
The South Peace Regional Archives
The Peace River Museum and Archives
Local libraries are places that contain history books relative their area. Check them out.
A large collection of books and newspaper archives can be found in the Grande Prairie Public Library. Grande Prairie newspapers are contained on microfilm, and cover the period 1913 until the 1960s.
For those people who enjoy travelling around the Peace Country, Registered Historical Sites are places that have gone through a formal process of being designated because they are significant and are usually intact to some degree. The Alberta Register of Historic Sites lists designated sites in the Peace Country.
There are many other sites not yet designated or of lesser significance, that can also be found in the region. These include cairns, school locations, abandoned settlements, and buildings with historical plaques that tell a story. These sites can be discovered from all of the above information. If you look at a road map you can usually make a travelling loop that will include two or more sites. Or you can simply go to a place and return. Either way it is a great way to spend a day out.
