Gateway to the Rockies

Tom Peterson was a renowned local historian in Alberta, Canada, who was dedicated to increasing awareness of Jasper and Hinton history.

His locally famous "History Hour" tours sought to show people the history that was all around residents, highlighting topics such as the Columbia Trail, the fur trade, David Thompson, and the railroad in Yellowhead County.

As the tagline for his "History Hours" stated, by "examining the past and making history relevant in the Yellowhead Region," Tom hoped to pass down his love for history and this region that he called home.

This map tour seeks to recreate Tom's final tour, "Gateway to the Rockies," which covered topics ranging from the first homesteaders of what would become Jasper National Park, the creation of Jasper House and the area's importance in the fur trade, and the Alberta Coal Branch mining history.

Due to time constraints and other factors, the tour was not able to stop at all of the locations listed on the itinerary or in the order that they were listed, and the re-creation of the tour reflects this. Special thanks to Joan Melvin for her assistance and fact-checking.

Please scroll through the map to enjoy a re-creation of Tom Peterson's "Gateway to the Rockies" tour!

Joan Melvin, a personal friend of Tom's, attended this tour and took various photos throughout. She combined these photos into a video presentation, which you can view below. The music playing during the video is the hymn "When Peace Like a River," which was a favourite of Tom and his wife Vi.

Tom Peterson's presentations and publications are too many to list. One of his most popular and accessible works, though, is the TransCanada Ecotours Northern Rockies Highway Guide. This book was developed by Fred Pollett, Robert Udell, Peter Murphy, and Tom Peterson, as an extension of their shared interests in local history.

Tom's "Gateway to the Rockies" tour utilized this book in order to give tour participants not only directions to the locations they were visiting, but also to give contextual information in preparation for Tom's presentations.

Using this book, individuals would be able to physically recreate Tom's "Gateway to the Rockies" tour, as well as many of his other "History Hour" tours, as it offers clear directions, mileage, and even coordinates for important locations in the region.

This work was heavily relied upon, in addition to the Peterson Papers collection, to develop this virtual tour. Copies are available to purchase at the Northern Rockies Museum in Hinton.

"...although he is one of the authors of this publication, the other members of the team recognize the privilege and value of working with Tom Peterson, whose dedication to, historical knowledge of, and library of materials relating to the region are quite simply remarkable. Tom's knowledge is generously available to all." - TransCanada EcoTours Northern Rockies Highway Guide, pg vii.

In order to ensure that his research and work was preserved for future generations, Tom decided to donate his papers to the Northern Rockies Museum of Culture and Heritage in Hinton ( https://www.northernrockiesmuseum.com/) . The Northern Rockies Museum collaborated with the Hinton Municipal Library and their Coal Branch Archives in order to digitize and enable access to Tom's lifetime of work.

Tom passed away February 2, 2021 at the age of 91, but his legacy and work lives on in the "Peterson Papers collection."

Please contact the Hinton Municipal Library ( https://hintonlibrary.org/ ) for information about accessing and viewing the Peterson Papers collection.

To view the collection online and access digitized material, please see  https://albertaonrecord.ca/hinton-municipal-library-archives  for the "Peterson Papers collection."

For a brief overview of Tom Peterson's life and research, please see:  https://jasperlocal.com/jasper-history/tom-peterson-was-a-knowledge-keeper-of-the-athabasca-valley/  

For further information about Tom Peterson's publications, such as the TransCanada EcoTours Northern Rockies Highway Guide and A Hard Road to Travel: Land, Forests, and People of the Upper Athabasca, please see:  https://friresearch.ca/publications/transcanada-ecotours-northern-rockies-highway-guide  and  https://friresearch.ca/publications/hard-road-travel-land-forests-and-people-upper-athabasca-region .  

"Tom and his beloved Vi have passed away, but Tom’s passion and knowledge on historical events in the region live on, many of which we wouldn’t even know about without his efforts. For that we are eternally grateful to Tom." - Stuart Taylor