From early settlers to influential citizens, the Government of Canada is working to recognize Women with Canadian place names.
The Geographic Names Board of Canada has released an interactive map that offers a sample of 500 official place names approved by the federal, provincial and territorial naming authorities.
The selected geographical features are named for women from a range of backgrounds who have been remembered for different reasons.
Several of these locations featured are in central Alberta, including Caroline, Gwynne, Irma and Phyllis Lake.
Caroline was named after Rebecca Caroline Nelson (née Langley) the first postmaster’s daughter. She often worked as a camp cook on Geological Survey of Canada surveys.
The hamlet of Gwynne, north of Ponoka, was named after Lady Julia Maude Gwynne Schreiber, daughter of John Gwynne, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Phyllis Lake near Rocky Mountain House was named after Phyllis Vincey, daughter of George Vincey, a homesteader and store owner who came to the area in 1911.
The village of Irma, near Wainwright, was named after Irma Wainwright in 1909. It was named after the daughter of W. Wainwright, vice-president of the Grand Truck Pacific Railway.