Description
The McKernan neighbourhood is part of the original land owned by Robert McKernan (1846-1908). He was born in Ontario and
came west from Winnipeg in about 1877. He and his younger brother James worked on the erection of the first telegraph
line from Red River to Hay Lakes. James had earlier served with the North West Mounted Police, as only the third man to
enlist, before returning to Ontario and encouraging his brother to move west.
Robert and James took work with Dominion Telegraph and helped complete the line between Hay Lakes and Edmonton. They
also were given the contract, in 1877, to maintain the telegraph line west of Battleford. In 1878 Robert settled south
of the North Saskatchewan River, with his wife Sara. A large, two-storey farmhouse was built. It stood on the site of
the present-day McKernan Elementary-Junior High School until the late 1940s, when it was demolished. Sara McKernan bore
11 children in the home, all but one of whom lived to adulthood.
In 1896 Robert McKernan left farming and became involved in real estate development. In 1903, McKernan built the
Dominion Hotel; his son John went on to build the landmark Princess Theatre on Whyte Avenue in 1915. Complications from
appendicitis claimed the life of Robert at the age of 62; Sara lived until the age of 91.
The lake lying just east of the McKernan property was known as McKernan Lake. Before the lake was drained in the 1940s,
Edmontonians used it as a recreation area, picnicking there in the summer and skating in the winter.
Feature Type
Neighbourhood
Designation Year
CU