Deer
Mound
Deer mound is the second highest elevation in
Strathcona County, reaching 2525.5 feet (769.76m). This gives a
view of the land from Fort Saskatchewan to Tofield and surrounding
area. Some settlers arrived around 1891 and since the land had not
yet been surveyed, the settlers set fires to clear it. During the
years 1894 - 1895, the area from Cooking Lake to Fort Saskatchewan
could be seen on fire.
In 1895, the Dominion Government set aside
170 square miles (440 sq. km) of forest for protection and
appointed the first forest ranger in North West Territories to
alert settlers, blaze trails and mark the area. In 1899, the
Dominion Government proclaimed this area the Cooking Lake Forest
Reserve.
In 1896, J.E. Wood surveyed two sections and
discovered there were nine settlers in this area. A wooden lookout
tower was built on this site c1900 and was replaced in the mid
1940s with a 88.5 foot (27m) high steel tower. The Deer Mound
station is marked by a standard Geodetic Survey of Canada bronze
tablet No. 28618, (not a brass cap
cache) set in a concrete block protruding 19 inches
(47cm) above the ground. This station was installed and surveyed in
1928 by triangulation as part of a survey control network that
serves as a foundation for other surveys in the area.
The Beaver Hill Trail to Strathcona (South
Edmonton) is about 1 mile (1.6km) south. Where the trail cuts
through is designated as a natural reserve area.