In our ongoing series of posts acknowledging our 120 years since incorporation, we’ll be sharing some significant aspects of Innisfail’s history throughout the months leading up to November 20, 2023.
In 1893 Dr. Henry George and his wife Barbara moved to lnnisfail where they began to establish a reputation amongst people in the area of being collectors of natural history specimens.
The Georges assembled a private museum displaying rocks, insects, birds and mammals. At the time of its creation, the George Museum was the only museum of its kind in Alberta and remained so until 1923 when a museum opened in Banff.
Dr. George’s wife, Barbara, learned the basics of drawing during childhood and became an accomplished painter. Her paintings included native plants and landscapes. She is credited with the design of the official Alberta crest, the inspiration being the view from a second floor window of her home.
