The Sheep River has been Okotoks’ biggest attraction since the arrival of the first settlers and is the focal point of the town’s summer river walking tour.
Okotoks Museum and Archives manager Kathy Coutts will lead residents and visitors on a 90-minute free guided tour of the Sheep River July 29 starting at 2 p.m. to talk about the history of the river and its role in the town’s development.
“We will discuss everything from how the Sheep River got its name to the role it played in our early industries like the Lineham Lumber Company,” said Coutts. “It relied heavily on the river and was our chief employer at the turn of the last century.”
Coutts said crews would cut down timber in the Foothills west of Turner Valley and wait until the spring runoff to dump the logs into the Sheep River. The river would transport them to the mill in Okotoks, with men walking along to dislodge logs that got hung up along the way.
“Without the river they would have had to haul those logs,” she said. “The river was crucial in bringing the logs to the sawmill. It would have been quite the sight seeing those logs in the river.”
In the days before the Lineham Lumber Company, the Sheep River played a role in why people moved to Okotoks, Coutts said.
“It was one of the easiest places to ford the river,” she said. “As a result the First Nations crossed the river here and when the Macleod Trail was established it came through here because it was an ideal place to cross the river.”
The Sheep River is now often used for swimming, fishing and tubing in the warmer months, said Coutts.
“Today people move to Okotoks because of the beautiful river valley and the amenities, whether it’s the opportunity to walk along the river or dip their toes in the river,” she said. “On hot days it’s a nice place to cool off.”
Saturday’s walking tour is part of more than 70 historic activities taking place in Calgary and surrounding municipalities during Historic Calgary Week July 28 to Aug. 7.
“We’ve been a part of Historic Calgary week for many, many years,” Coutts said, adding previous events have included tours of the cemetery, Macleod Trail and historic downtown. A tour of the historic downtown will take place the following Saturday on Aug. 5.
The summer river walk is new this year. Coutts has held river tours in the fall and during Earth Hour in March, but said this is the first summer tour.
“It stems from an exhibit we did a number of years ago on the history of the Sheep River,” she said. “We had so much information and research that came from that exhibit that was turned into a guided walk.”
Those who attended the spring and fall tours will notice a difference in the river, said Coutts.
“The river and the river valley will be in a different stage, the flow will be different and the trees and natural environment will be different than what it was in March,” she said.
The Sheep River walking tour begins at the Okotoks Museum and Archives at 2 p.m., heads west to the former sawmill site near the Okotoks Public Library, crosses the Southridge Drive Bridge and returns along the south side of the river and across the Laurie Boyd pedestrian bridge.
