The Bellerose of Bellerose Drive: A history of one St. Albert family

Photo courtesy of Robert M.

The roads of St. Albert can be pretty confusing for the uninitiated. When friends from Edmonton come to visit for the first time, they often complain that it’s impossible to find their way around our city because a numbered grid is the only true method of organizing roads. But most St. Albertans know better. There is a personality and a flow to our named streets, one that you won’t find on the grid. And what’s more, as all of our main streets are named after notable personalities from St. Albert’s past, each of our streets finds itself part of a story—a history that lives on in our memories as drivers. Here is a story that many of us find ourselves driving every day: The Bellerose of Bellerose Drive.

Olivier Bellerose came out west with his wife, Josephte-Suzette Savard, in 1883 and ultimately settled in St. Albert. But Olivier, while an important member of the community, isn’t the Bellerose of this story. Olivier and Josephte-Suzette had 13 children between them, but one of these children, Octave Bellerose, stuck out among the rest. Octave was a farmer like his father before him, but much of his free time was spent with his horses, and in time, it became common knowledge that Octave was the best rider in the area.

When Louis Riel’s famous rebellion broke out in 1885, Octave got together with many other men of the community and formed the St. Albert Mounted Riflemen, a militia force, which would protect the North-West from Riel’s potential attacks. Despite the Métis heritage of Octave and his brothers-in-arms, they didn’t want war to come to St. Albert, and so they positioned themselves in opposition to Riel’s forces. Atop his horse, Octave patrolled the region as Second Lieutenant of the Riflemen, from St. Albert to Lac la Biche. He and the other militia-men worked hard to ensure that peace was maintained in their home territory.

When the rebellion ended, Octave returned home to his farm and saw that a new crisis had arisen: There wasn’t enough classroom space for the children of St. Albert. So Bellerose School was built (no, not that one) right on the farm, becoming the first school of St. Albert’s Catholic School district. This original Bellerose School can still be found in Fort Edmonton today.

Octave died in 1909 at age 60. But, of course, his name is still remembered, and his story lives on, thanks in no small part to the “confusing” named streets of St. Albert.