We are excited to partner with the Jasper Yellowhead Historical Society for our Gran Fondo.

Jasper Historical Society held its first general meeting in January, 1963.  Its early projects included working with Jasper National Park to install a commemorative plaque at Athabasca Pass and to protect heritage items at the Palisades Ranch and Pocahontas cemetery.  The society, renamed the Jasper-Yellowhead Historical Society (JYHS), established its office and archives in the basement of the Jasper Library.  In 1977, JYHS registered as a non-profit, charitable organization:

• To encourage the study of the history of Alberta and Canada, particularly as it pertains to Jasper and vicinity
• To save from oblivion the memories…to obtain and preserve narratives…of the original inhabitants of the area, including missionaries, fur traders, explorers and settlers
• To collect all data possible on the early history of Jasper town site and its early citizens
• To locate, preserve and mark the local points of historical interest and
• To establish and operate a museum

The JYHS started working toward a museum in 1978.  In 1985, they agreed to purchase a partially complete building on Pyramid Lake Road.  In 1990 the lower floor of this structure was complete and the society’s office and archives moved in.  In 1992 the main floor office area, retail outlet and Temporary Gallery were opened and the Permanent Exhibit Gallery, to focus on Jasper’s social and human history entered the planning stage. In 1996 a Federal-Provincial Infrastructure grant was obtained, and combined with over $80,000 in JYHS fundraising, development of the Permanent Historical Gallery began.