Nestled nearly 1,000 feet (300 metres) below the flat terrain that surrounds it, the town of Peace River sits at a dramatic river confluence in northwest Alberta. Located roughly 486 kilometres northwest of Edmonton and approximately 198 kilometres northeast of Grande Prairie, the town is accessible via Highway 2 and sits where the Peace River meets the Smoky River, the Heart River, and Pat’s Creek. That striking valley setting gives Peace River a geography unlike much of the surrounding region, with the townsite tucked well below the plateau above.
The Surrounding Area and Community
The broader Peace River area is home to a diverse mix of communities. To the west, north, and south of town, acreage subdivisions and nodal settlements are spread along Highway 2, Highway 684 (also known as the Shaftesbury Trail), and Highway 743, as well as the southwest portion of Northern Sunrise County. First Nation communities are located to the northeast, while French-Canadian farming settlements can be found to the south and east. Mennonite and Hutterite German-Canadian farming communities occupy areas to the north and northwest of the town. Pat’s Creek, which once ran as an open channel through the town, now flows through a culvert beneath the streets before re-emerging at its mouth on the Peace River at Riverfront Park.
History, Growth, and Notable Events
The town’s recorded history stretches back to 1792, when Alexander Mackenzie established Fort Fork on the eastern bank of the Peace River, just south of its confluence with the Smoky. The area had long been significant to Indigenous peoples, particularly the Athapaskan and Algonquian language groups, whose territories were divided by the great river the Beaver people called Unchagah, meaning the Peace River. The Hudson’s Bay Company opened Fort St. Mary’s at the forks of the Peace and Smoky rivers in 1818, though it lasted only one season before a third iteration was built in 1820. The community was formally known as the Village of Peace River Crossing from 1914 until 1916, before eventually growing into the town it is today. By the 2011 census, Peace River had a population of 6,729 residents, representing a 6.6% increase over its 2006 count. The town served as the host of the 2004 Alberta Winter Games and, in 2010, joined with Grimshaw and neighbouring municipalities to co-host the Alberta Summer Games.