John Glenn (Original Settler)
John Glenn, born in Ireland in 1834,
emigrated to the Americas in the mid-1800's, at the age
of 16 years. He found himself in the southern United
States at the outbreak of the U.S. Civil War and was
drafted into the Confederate Army. Glenn disagreed
profoundly with the principles of the Confederacy and
deserted their army. He made his way to Union-held
territory and joined their army. Following the end of the
Civil War in 1865, Glenn made his way across the United
States and into the Canadian West. Working in mines in
British Columbia, he was lured by the prospects of gold
on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. He
continued eastward, panning for gold on the Sakatchewan
River. In 1873, after years of solitary wandering, the
forty year-old bachelor married Adelaide Belcourt. The
ceremony was performed in the mission at St. Albert,
Alberta.
Searching for suitable land on which to settle, John
and Adelaide Glenn packed all their worldly possessions
onto the back of a single mule and made their way to the
fertile soil in the broad valley where Fish Creek flows
into the Bow River, establishing the first European
settlement in what is now the Calgary area. Here in 1873,
the Glenns built their first home, a log cabin, complete
with sod roof, stone fire-place and chimney.
During the next several years, John Glenn made
frequent trips to Fort Benton, Montana, freighting
supplies and trading with the Hudson's Bay Company, the
North West Mounted Police and the local native Sarcee
people. On one trip home from Montana in 1874, John Glenn
encountered Colonel Macleod of the mounted police and
guided them into what was soon to be Fort Macleod.
During these same years, Glenn continued to improve
his homestead. He started raising cattle and broke some
of the virgin sod to grow grain. The soil was fertile and
his crops flourished. Three years later, John Glenn's
farm consisted of nine partially fenced acres sown to
barley and oats, a hay meadow and a vegetable garden.
Glenn also supplemented his income by selling hay to the
mounted police as well as by undertaking labouring jobs
for them. John Glenn became a vehement supporter of
Settlers' Rights in the Canadian West and an avid
proponent of the potential for development of the Calgary
area.
Adelaide Glenn (née Belcourt) was a Métis
woman from Lac Ste. Anne. She was no less a pioneer than
her husband, raising six children, tending livestock, and
providing room and board for travellers. She also
provided vital emotional support to the early women
settlers who arrived shortly after her pioneering
settlement. Her services as a midwife earned her the
nickname of the "Grandmother of Midnapore".
In 1879, John and Adelaide Glenn moved further up the
Fish Creek Valley and established a second farm at the
McLeod Trail crossing. Their original buildings were sold
to the Canadian Government as a Government Supply Farm
intended to help train Indian people in European farming
techniques. John Glenn sold his first farm, together with
all his improvements, including a cow and a calf for $360.
John Glenn always had great faith in the future of
Calgary, which he thought with its splendid agricultural
and stock raising capabilities, coupled with its enormous
mineral resources, would one day grow to be one of the
largest cities in the west. As a businessman, he was
first class and most strict and honourable in all
engagements. John Glenn died of pneumonia in 1886, at the
age of 52 years.
By 1892, the remaining buildings and the land of Glenn's
first farm were acquired by William Roper Hull who built
the opulent Bow Valley Ranche House only a few metres
from the original log cabin (the original log cabin still
exists today and is currently being restored by the
University of Calgary Archeology Department. Visit our Log Cabin/Trading Post
webpage for information).
The Hull Era
Pioneer rancher, entrepreneur, land developer and
philanthropist, William Roper Hull played a prominent
role in western Canada's early economic development. In
1892, William Roper Hull and his brother John Roper Hull
purchased the Bow Valley Farm from Quebec Lt.-Gov.
Theodore Robitaille and renamed it the Bow Valley Ranche
(formerly the Bow Valley Farm). The Hulls came to Canada
from England about 1873 and learned the ranching business
from their uncle in Kamloops, British Columbia. The
brothers later purchased two ranches near Nanton, Alberta.
Operations rapidly expanded, and by 1888 they owned the
largest meat business across British Columbia and the
North-West Territories. W.R. Hull began operations on his
own.With the well-known A.E. Cross and M. Cochrane, he
opened the Calgary Brewing and Malting Company. As a
commerciaal real estate developer, he was responsible for
many notaable Calgary landmarks and other comparable
buildings in British Columbia and Alberta.
Born in Somerset, England in 1856, Hull sailed for
Panama with his brother John in 1873 when both were in
their late teens. They crossed the isthmus by foot,
travelled by steamer to Victoria, boated up the Fraser
River toward Yale and finally finished their journey on
foot to Kamloops, British Columbia. Later, they assembled
and drove 1,200 head of horses over the Crowsnest Pass in
the Rocky Mountains to arrive in Calgary where they sold
them to the North West Mounted Police and the North West
Cattle Company. In 1886, W.R. Hull opened a meat business
in Calgary and expanded into ranching, after obtaining a
contract with the Canadian Pacific Railway to supply
construction crews in British Columbia with fresh beef.
In 1893, he built Calgary's first opera house, a 1000
seat, two-storey sandstone theatre (Center Street and 6th
Avenue SW). He also built the Hull Block (8th Avenue and
Center Street SW) and in 1909, he built the six-storey
Grain Exchange Building (9th Avenue and 1st Street SW),
which was a skyscraper in its day.
William Roper Hull cultivated the social life of an
elegant class of ranchers whose lifestyle was unique to
the time period in which he lived. The Bow Valley Ranche
became the focal point for their gatherings. When the
original log home from the Government Supply Farm burned
down in 1896, Hull built the Bow Valley Ranche House. The
Ranche House represented the height of country luxury and
grace. Hull wanted a home that would allow him and his
wife Emme to entertain on a lavish scale and be a fitting
monument to his financial success. Mr. Hull hired James
Llewellyn Wilson, Calgary's most prominent architect, to
design the house. The chosen design was simple, yet
elegant and sophisticated. Wilson based it on the T-plan,
common at the turn of the century. The floor plan,
exterior design and landscaping provided front areas of
leisure and back areas for labour. In 1896, The Ranche
House cost about $4,000 to build. It has been
acknowledged to be the finest country home in the
Territories during that era and is a unique piece of
architecture. Under the ownership of W.R. Hull, the ranch
also became known for its irrigation system and crop
producation. Hay production jumped from 82 to 1,089
tonnes within three years and some oat crops stood 3
metres tall. Newspapers and reporters often reffered to
the ranch as Hull's Irrigation Farm.
In 1902, W.R. Hull and Emme moved into the little city
where they had built another mansion which they named as
Langmore. It stood on 12th Avenue and 6th Street SW,
opposite today's Ranchmans Club. Hull's wife, Emme was
described as "a sweet and always cheerful woman".
Mrs. Hull lived at Langmore for 28 years following her
husband's death in 1925. The Hulls were childless, but at
the request of W.R. Hull, the largest share of his estate
was dedicated to the development of William Roper Hull
Home, a treatment center for troubled children. Now, with
a broader mandate, the facility is called The William
Roper Hull Child and Family Services and is a leader in
developing effective, community-based programs for at-risk
children and families. Other major beneficiaries of his
estate included the Anglican Diocese of Calgary, the
local Red Cross and various local hospitals. In 1994, in
honour of his accomplishments and memory, William Roper
Hull was designated a Canadaian Historian at the Bow
Valley Ranche in Fish Creek Provincial Park.
The Burns Era
Senator Patrick Burns purchased the ranch from W.R. Hull
in 1902. Burns frequently offered the hospitality of the
ranch to distinguished people visiting the Calgary area.
the farm was an ideal location in respect to the Burns
family meat packing plant. Many large cattle drives were
brought to the site where the animals were bedded, fed,
watered and rested before being herded to the stockyards.
The Bow Valley Farm became the functional headquarters
of a great cattle empire covering over 450,000 acres. In
38 years, from the start of a small slaughter house in
east Calgary, Senator Patrick Burns built up one of the
largest packing and provisions businesses in the world.
He purchased or built packing plants in Calgary, Edmonton,
Vancouver, Prince Albert, Regina, Winnipeg and Seattle.
During this period of tremendous growth, Senator Patrick
Burns bought or started over 100 retail meat shops in the
provinvces of British Columbia and Alberta. He also
established 65 creameries and cheese factories, 11
wholesale provision houses and 18 wholesale fruit houses.
He extended his empire overseas and set up agencies in
London, Liverpool and Yokohama.
In addition to ranching interests, Senator Patrick
Burns was a strong supporter of commercial enterprises
involved in the development of the West. Included in
these ventures are the Turner Valley oil fields, oil well
drilling activities, extensive coal leases and large real
estate holdings. In 1912, Burns became one of the "Big
Four", helping to finance the first Calgary Stampede.
In 1913, he built The Burns Building at 237 - 8th Avenue
SW, known at that time as one of Calgary's most
distinguished office addresses. At the age of 75, he was
appointed to the Canadian Senate and later, to the
Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame.
Born in Victoria County, Ontario, in 1855, Senator
Patrick Burns was the fourth of eleven children of
Michael and Bridgit O'Byrne. His parents emigrated from
Ireland and the family name was shortened to Byrne and
then later to Burns. Patrick, with an older brother, John
Burns, left home and took a homestead in 1878 in
Minnedosa, near Winnipeg, Manitoba. He worked on a
railway gang and as a cowboy to earn extra money. He
managed to obtain contracts across western Canada to
supply fresh meat to railroad construction camps and in
1890, he came to Calgary where he built his first
slaughter house. In 1898, he built a packing house in
Calgary followed by others in Vancouver, Edmonton, Prince
Albert and Regina. He then turned to ranching on a large
scale and acquired large tracts of land. Senator Patrick
Burns continued to acquire various properties which he
added to his operation. Among these acquisitions were the
Bar U, Willow Creek, Glengarry, Bradfield, Two Dot, Rio
Alto, Linehum, Flying E and C.K. Ranches to name a few.
In 1901, Patrick Burns married Louisa Ellis, from
Penticton, British Columbia. The Burns family residence,
completed in 1902, was a baronial eighteen-room building,
located at 510 - 13th Avenue SW. The house was later used
by the Department of Veteran Affairs and then demolished
in 1956. Senator and Mrs. Patrick Burns had one son,
Patrick Michael Burns, born in Calgary in 1906.
Under the direction of Senator Patrick Burns, The Bow
Valley Farm, as Senator Burns called it, became a
functional unit within a cattle ranching network.
Eventually the Burns ranch included some 20,000 acres
bounded on the north by what is now Stampede Park, on the
east by the Bow River, on the south by 146th Avenue, and
on the west by MacLeod Trail - a large property by any
standards, but only a small segment of Pat Burns' 450,000
acre ranching empire.
Patrick Burns was one of the major forces behind the
growth of ranching in Alberta. He purchased large herds
of purebred Hereford stock, which he used to help fellow
ranchers improve the blood lines of their own cattle. A
pioneer of cold-weather ranching, Burns put up 250,000
tons of hay for winter feed, and convinced other ranchers
to utilize winter feeding methods themselves. He
renovated the corrals and feeding pens on his ranches,
and also introduced modern feed-lot techniques to finish
cattle for market. Charlie Yuen continued to welcome and
personally supervise the comforts of any visitor to the
ranch.
Special mention should be made of Patrick Burns'
interest in conservation. Recognizing the value of the
trees in Fish Creek Valley, he directed his foreman to
erect fences around the groves of aspen and poplar as
protection from the cattle. They also planted some 2,000
poplar along the MacLeod Trail adjacent to Bow Valley
Ranche.
In 1928, Senator Patrick Burns relinquished personal
ownership and control of his holdings and after a thirty-eight
year history in Calgary was sold to Dominion Securities
Limited. The 1929 corporate listing disclosed the extent
of the company with corporate headquarters in Calgary,
Alberta and a capitalization of $10 million.
Senator Burns hosted his last major social occasion in
the summer of 1933, being a tea for old-timers held at
the Bow Valley Ranche. After Patrick Burns' death in 1937,
his nephew and business successor Michael John Burns came
to live in Bow Valley Ranche House. Under his supervision,
the ranching operation continued to prosper and he also
preserved the established tradition of true western
hospitality remembered by many Calgarians. In failing
health, Michael John Burns moved to Calgary in 1950, and
his son Richard T. J. Burns came to live at the ranch.
Under his management, many more improvements were made,
including the construction of a tennis court, a swimming
pool, and a one-story addition to The Ranch House.
Richard T. J. Burns lived at the site until 1970. In 1973,
the Alberta Provincial Government purchased the Bow
Valley Ranche from the Burns Foundation as part of the
development of Fish Creek Provincial Park.
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