Pearce, William
Surveyor, Statistician, Administrator
1848-1930 

William Pearce apprenticed as a surveyor, joining the Department
of the Interior in that capacity in 1874. By 1884 he was acting as
the Department's chief advisor on the development of the
North-West. Calgary became his headquarters in 1884 when he
was appointed Superintendent of Mines. His position rapidly
became that of troubleshooter, advisor and unofficial promoter for
western expansion. He was assigned the task of settling land
claims, particularly those of the Metis and squatters. Based on this
knowledge, Mr. Pearce prepared the official report on the causes
of the Riel Rebellion. During the next twenty years William Pearce
was actively engaged in devising a number of policies designed to
control the development of resources. These included the creation
of stock-watering reserves, establishment of the system of National
Parks, initiation of irrigation projects and passsage of the
North-West Irrigation Act.  In 1904 Mr. Pearce left the government
service and joined the Canadian Pacific Railway Company,
providing expertise in all fields of resource development,
particularly irrigation. In 1916 he served on the Economic and
Development Commission of the Canadian government. In his last
years, he acted as statistician for the C.P.R.

Multiple media, 1858-1930, 15.66 m

Agriculture and forestry, 1886-1929 
Includes bulletins; correspondence; memoranda.

Calgary, 1884-1929 
Relates mainly to city administration; educational  
institutions; parks; planning; services.

Commissions, 1894-1921 
Relates mainly to the Railway Rates Commission; the Economic 
and Development Commission.  Includes data from 1867.

Department of the Interior, 1881-1929 
Relates mainly to correspondence with other officials of the 
Department.

Historical, 1902-1928 
Includes correspondence, draft manuscripts and research  
material (some from 1875-1912) collected for a history of  
the Canadian North-West.

Irrigation, 1890-1927 
Includes or relates to general irrigation matters;  
North-West Irrigation Act; irrigation projects; irrigation  
associations; private irrigation correspondence; maps.

Letterbooks, 1883-1891 
Relates to general business matters; land claims.

Miscellaneous, 1889-1926 
Includes clippings; publications.

Mountain parks, 1887-1925 
Relates to their establishment; draft regulations regarding  
publicity; protection of the Rocky Mountain parks.

Natural resources and industrial development, 1887-1928 
Relates in part to coal, gas, oil, petroleum and water power.

Personal and family, 1883-1928 
Relates to business investments; church matters; education;  
employment; family matters; finances; health; legal affairs; 
politics; real estate.

Personal correspondence, 1885-1929

Photographs, 1858-1902 
Persons and places in western Canada; collected, not created 
by Mr. Pearce (105 images).

Settlement, 1880-1927 
Includes or relates to the Department of the Interior; Canadian
Pacific Railway Company; personal files; maps.

Statistics, 1912-1926 
Relates mainly to municipal finances on the prairies; a comparison of
certain demographic, social, and economic features of northern and
southern Alberta.

Surveys, 1878-1928 
Includes or relates to career papers; Department of the Interior;
Canadian Pacific Railway Company; surveyors' associations;
legislation; history of surveys; maps.

Transportation, 1884-1930 
Relates mainly to railways; roads; navigable rivers and  lakes.

Published inventories 
Access: Open