In 2023, the Town of Innisfail will celebrate 120 years since its incorporation on November 20, 1903. In our ongoing series of posts acknowledging our rich history, we’ll be sharing some significant aspects of the town’s history throughout the months leading up to November.
Napoleon Lake is the largest of the lakes found in the immediate area around Poplar Grove, which was the name used at the time for the small collection of homes and businesses in the vicinity of what is now Innisfail.
During the late 1880s, Napoleon Remillard operated one of the earliest stopping houses at Poplar Grove.
Remillard created a homestead on the east side of the lake, where water and forage were plentiful and the naturally sheltered area made for a perfect stop for stage and freight drivers travelling the Calgary-Edmonton trail.