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| Freight wagons on the road from Golden |
Our herd of purebred Clydesdales has brought the 1890's to life for
us ever since 1970 when the first "Black Clydesdales" came
to Fort Steele from the Oakalla Correctional Institute near Vancouver.
These horses won many prizes at fairs and exhibits throughout British
Columbia. A breeding Program at Fort Steele Heritage Town has continued
to supply superior stock for the ongoing operations of the townsite,
and has given the site its most impressive ambassadors at community
parades and fairs.
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| Clydesdale at the barn ready to go out with
the wagon. |
Today the Clydesdale horse is registered as a rare breed. One hundred
years ago teamsters used Percherons, Belgians, Clydesdales and all
kinds of crosses to freight goods into East Kootenay. Four and six-horse
teams came into Fort Steele 15 to 20 times a week from Kalispell,
Montana, and as many again from Golden, B.C. Businesses such as
the American Store in Fort Steele owned and operated a riverboat
during the navigable season, and ran at least two teams a week between
Fort Steele and Jennings, Montana, during the rest of the year.
Our success with the Clydesdales encouraged us to bring other rare
breeds onto our site. Our small herd of Cotswold sheep were acquired
in the spring of 1997. Once present everywhere in North America
and Europe, they are now reduced to a handful of animals. Children
love these large, gentle animals that look so different from the
wooley cartoons they see in their picture books. In 1998 we drew
crowds of local residents with the spring lambing and were fortunate
enough to get a unique set of black twins.
Chickens were apart of almost every household in the 19th century.
Kids and parents alike love to watch our collection of weird and
wonderful birds sashay around town, chasing grasshoppers across
the road or dusting under a caragana hedge. We know that when the
children are having fun mom and dad are as well. This is the way
our site works, educating, entertaining, and preserving rare breeds
and artifacts for tomorrow's citizens.
In the future we hope to look at 19th century pigs and rabbits.
What could be more memorable than having an interpreter present
a large rabbit doe for your young son or daughter to stroke, at
the same time telling them something about the care and feeding
of the animal. We want to bring them back in twenty-five years with
their own kids. We build memories!
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History 