Section 10 – Homestead land given to the Oblate fathers, this was Rouleauville. “—the most important outpost of French Canadian Catholic culture
in southern Alberta, a little Quebec on the banks of the Elbow River,”
according to the 1980’s writer Robert Stamp. In 1872, the first mission of
Notre Dame de la Paix was founded by Père Doucet just twenty-five miles up the
Elbow River. Three years later, he was the first to greet the North West
Mounted Police as they arrived to establish a fort at the meeting point of the
Bow and Elbow rivers. In that autumn of 1875, the mission was relocated to the
present site of St. Mary’s Cathedral; and was staffed by Oblate priests: Leduc,
Lestanc, Fouget, Lemarchand and Lacombe, who were supervised by Bishop Vital
Grandin. The members of the parish were originally French speaking from Quebec
who worked for the CPR construction, and Métis workers of the southern Alberta
rangeland. The security of the church Mission district however, was not
set in stone. 1883 marked Father Père Lacombe’s 2000 mile journey to Ottawa
with a simple demand of being handed the papers for the settlement. With the
threat of camping in the minister of interior, David McPherson’s office, the
priest was able to acquire two quarter sections, stretching from17th Avenue
south to 34th Avenue, and from the Stampede grounds west to 4th
Street. More English settlers came and changed the pattern of the French
ways. So much so, that the Catholic parish became Anglicized and renamed St.
Mary’s. Not far in the west was the Sacred Heart convent from which many were
taught, from Catholic and Protestant homes alike. Because of the growing number
of pupils, the St. Mary’s Boys’ School was established soon in 1906. It became
apparent that the influx of English speakers was going to continue. The Oblates
made use of the Catholic Church’s immigration assistance services and a few
families from Quebec became one of the most influential. The two brothers from
Isle Vert—Judge Charles and Doctor Edouard Rouleau—after whom the village was
named, were of course, the primary figures. Other notable establishments were
the Blue Rock Hotel on the corner of 4th St and 25 Ave; and Holy
Cross Hospital. Along 4th Street toward the southern end is the
prominent celebration of the French and Catholic influence, where cross streets
were named Notre Dame Road (17th Ave), St. Joseph Street 18th
Ave), and St. Mary Street (19th Ave; behind and ahead of these were
street names such as Oblate, Lacombe, Rouleau, Grandin and etc. The year of
1907 marked the annexation of Rouleaville by the city. Community names of
“Rouleauville” and “Mission” were used interchangeably until after WWI where
Rouleauville became no more. The change in street names was most noticeable as
they were turned into numbers. As soon as the appointment of John Thomas
McNally as the first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese, more and more of the
Oblate fathers were discouraged to be in the area. The dream of a
French-speaking community was halted and the only remnants of Rouleauville’s—now
called Mission—past remains with the presence of St. Mary’s Cathedral, St. Mary's School, Holy Cross Hospital and the Sacred Heart Convent. In its place is Rouleauville square that has been established to preserve the history of the village.
