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community history
Over 10,000 years ago, melting glaciers carved the Blindman Valley forming Gull Lake. The first evidence of humans occurred 7000 years ago. Gull Lake is in Treaty 6 territory, the traditional home, and meeting ground for many Indigenous peoples, including the Blackfoot, Cree, Dene, Stoney, and Métis. |
Norval and Nora Horner, Inshore Developments Ltd., have written a full history of the Meridian Beach development. Download their story. Gull Lake HistoryThe written history of Gull Lake began in 1799 when the North West Company built the Rocky Mountain House fort. David Thompson, a famous mapmaker, gave the lake its first name Long Lake in the early 1800s. He called the nearby river Wolf River which we now know today as the Blindman River. The Paskapoo Formation underlies much of southwestern Alberta. Paskapoo means "blind man" in Cree. Long ago, the Blindman River flowed right through Gull Lake. Gull Lake shows up on the Arrowsmith map of 1859. Early transportation systems were trails leading to Rocky Mountain House. Two trails passed close to the lake, one along the northwest shore and the other along the south side of the lake. In 1891 the first train of the Calgary to Edmonton railway passed to the east of the lake. In 1906, the first recorded car trip took place from Calgary to Edmonton. It took two days. In 1893 the first recorded settler was George Gale Mobley, a carpenter. William Wiese completed the first land development in 1905. He developed 47 lots in the Summer Village of Gull Lake (established in 1913, the oldest summer village in Alberta). Alberta established its first and most popular provincial park, Aspen Beach Provincial Park, on the southwest corner in 1932. Further developments occurred around the lake. Ponoka County approved three lakeshore developments on the west side of the lake across from Meridian Beach. Parkland Beach in the early 1970s, followed by Sunnyside and Poulson’s pasture. Gull Lake saw very little development in the 1980s and 1990s. Both Lacombe and Ponoka counties approved a significant number of new lots in the last 20 years. |
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Development HistoryMeridian Beach, originally located in the SE of section 12 township 42 Range 1 west of the 5th meridian, takes its name from the Fifth Meridian of longitude that passes up the east side. In the early days, the area was called Sandy Point. The first title to the quarter was granted in August 1929 to William J. Decoursey under the Homestead Act. After four sales and 39.41 acres of accreted land added to the title, Norval and Nora Horner bought the SE of 12 in August 1987. Learn more about who owned SE of 12 The DreamNorval and Nora had a dream of designing and constructing a lakeshore development and liked Meridian Beach when they first saw it. It had nice sand, good water depths, and beautiful trees. They knew the lake well because Nora’s family had owned a lovely classic craftsman cottage on the south side. They shared the vision of a lakeshore development that would be as important to families as her family cottage had been to them. Part of the dream was for the subdivision to include classic-looking cottages that would complement the lovely natural surroundings. Nora and Norval loved the Muskoka cottage country and the classic designs in the older cottages they remembered from their childhood. Norval and Nora started Inshore Developments Ltd. in 2003. Their dream took a lot of planning, hard work, approvals, and rezoning (granted in September 2003). Their dream became a reality when construction began in the fall of 2004. Read more about the development process and Norval & Nora Construction Timeline
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Mailing Address: RR 5 Site 2 Box 2 Rimbey, AB T0C 2J0 HALL RENTAL INQUIRIES Email: hallrental@meridianbeachhs.ca |