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Historical Era
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The historical era of Northlands Park spans various
smaller periods beginning with the organization’s birth in 1879, and
extends to around 1950. The first seven decades of the organization saw
a time of social changes, physical moves and the tumultuous growth
characteristic of fledgling groups with the vision to grow.
As the organization's mandate expanded, its name was changed to suit the broadened scope of areas it was moving into. Speaking to the specifically agricultural goals held at the start, Northlands Park was first called the Edmonton Agricultural Society (EAS). Within a decade, the capability and desire to engage wider audiences and varying participants led to the volunteer society incorporating as a non-profit organization, and being renamed the Edmonton Industrial Exhibition Association (EIEA) in 1899.
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The first Edmonton Exhibition occurred on 5 October
1879. Following the success of this event, the organization chose to
become active throughout the year instead of restricting itself to the
planning and carrying out of a one-day event. As the Klondike Gold Rush hit the
town of Edmonton and its surrounding communities, the population boomed. New buildings were erected, transient prospectors rushed in
and out, transportation expanded, and service industries multiplied. All of
this amounted to more energy and money in North-central Alberta.
During what is known as the resurgence period, the EIEA made strides towards acquiring permanent land on which to have its events and administration situated. This desire was fulfilled in the form of Rossdale Flats, a location beside the North Saskatchewan River. With the inauguration of Alberta as a province, and Edmonton as its capital, a time of celebration and growth was experienced. By the turn of the century Edmonton and Strathcona had a joint population of about 5,000 people and a new site had to be found for the ever-expanding EIEA.
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The
relocation period was a time
of movement, construction, and the debut of new community events. With
the creation of the organization's Livestock Pavilion, women’s
basketball teams put their skills on display, and Edmonton’s fair
expanded to a six-day event. Trade fairs found a new stop at the
Manufacturers Building and the organization changed its name once more,
to the Edmonton Exhibition Association (EEA), in order to embrace its
rising profile as citizens, politicians and business people felt its
impact and volunteered their abilities.
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Following a time of optimism and growth came the
Depression and the First and Second World Wars. Economic stagnation and a shift in
mood halted EEA construction during this war and interwar period. With the exception of the Women’s Building
created in 1919, facility additions were not made. Instead, the Canadian
Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) made use of the exhibition
facilities,
converting them from celebration spaces to training grounds.
Following the First World War, some sites reverted to exhibition use, only to
become barracks and training facilities again as the Second World War
broke out.
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A remarkable number of events have occurred during
the historical era of Northlands Park. The hard work of founding and
growing an organization happened at the same time that social, economic,
and political forces shaped the physical and cultural environment that
the organization existed in.
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Katherine Stinson, female stunt pilot and pioneer. Listen Now |
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