St.Albert Streets – Northeast

The northeast section of St. Albert yields some fascinating local vanguards.

In this final instalment of T8N’s look at St. Albert’s street names, we journey back in time to learn about the various chapters of historical people who contributed to the character of the city. These are but a few of the roads named in their honour visible on street signs in the neighbourhoods east of St. Albert Trail and north of the Sturgeon River. 

Bellerose Drive 

This drive was named in honour of Octave Bellerose, son of Oliver Bellerose, whose family settled near the Sturgeon River after moving from Quebec in 1833. Octave was known as one of the best horsemen around and established a school on his farm in 1886. A decade later, the Métis Association elected him president; much of his time was spent lobbying the federal government for the issue of transcripts beholden to Métis children.

Eastbrick Place 

At one time, several locals worked for this brick foundry, which warranted a road to be named after it.

Edward Way 

This has been thought to be named after Edward Van Lersberghe, who immigrated to Villeneuve in 1920 with his wife Maria after his three brothers had already settled in the area. The couple farmed throughout the Great Depression on a few different plots of land and eventually retired in St. Albert. 

Emery Court 

Sister Zoe LeBlanc Emery was one of the three Grey Nuns who arrived in St. Albert in 1863. Under her charge, the Grey Nuns established a hospital, orphanage, boarding school and a home for the elderly. She worked as a nurse and a teacher until her death in 1885. 

Escallier Place

French widower Hippolyte Escallier arrived in St. Albert before 1917 and brought his three grown children with him. One of them, Blanche, married a man named Michael Hogan and went on to teach school in Legal.

Evans Place

A secretary for the City of St. Albert, Kathy Evans earned the distinction of a street name in her honour. A highly respected administrator, she started off in the engineering department and then transferred to the city transit sector. 

Everitt Drive 

Harry Keith Everitt was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and a councillor in Sturgeon County. Born in 1923, he became an MLA in 1959 and served his constituency for three terms. He died Aug. 26, 2015 at the age of 92. 

Étoile Crescent North 

The St. Albert Star was a bilingual newspaper also known as L’Étoile de St. Albert, which inspired this stellar street name. It operated in the city from 1912 until 1914. 

Olivier Close 

Olivier Bellerose, father of Octave Bellerose, settled River Lot 35 to have 13 children while working for the Hudson’s Bay Company. The Bellerose family eventually accumulated ownership of roughly 2,000 acres of land on both sides of the Sturgeon River.

Onesti Place 

The widow of Archangelo Onesti, Catherine, donated a church bell in 1887. This street is named in honour of her donation. 

Ouellette Place 

Pierre Ouellette arrived in St. Albert in 1887, where he married and had five children. In 1898, Ouellette left to mine for gold and struck it big-time up north.A return trip to the Yukon the next year saw him experience a fatal affliction of typhoid fever. Unfortunately, all his gold earnings went towards his funeral. All that was left were Ouelette’s clothes, which the priest who administered the funeral brought back with him to St. Albert, where he shared the bad news with his family.

Sturgeon Road 

St. Albert’s first settlements were along the Sturgeon River and it played a vital role in transportation, water and sustenance through fishing. The first bridge in St. Albert was built on the Sturgeon River. t8n