Frank Crean (1875 – 1932) was an Irish-born

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. In 1908 and 1909, he led successive expeditions in the Canadian provinces of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

to report on the regions agricultural potential. Crean lake, the largest in

Prince Albert National Park Prince Albert National Park encompasses in central Saskatchewan, Canada and is located north of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. Though declared a National parks of Canada, national park March 24, 1927, official opening ceremonies weren't ...

is named in recognition of his contribution to Canadian exploration.

Biography

Francis Joseph Crean was born to Catholic parents in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. After serving in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

with his well known brother Thomas Joseph Crean, he emigrated to Canada and worked as a timber-cruiser for Bell Brothers Lumber Company. From February 1908, he was working in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

as a clerk with the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

. Concern was mounting during this time that inefficient land use would result in the necessity to expand agricultural lands beyond the

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows eventual ...

and this region of potential cultivation was promoted to the public as the New Northwest. Crean was assigned to report on some thirty-four million acres of land and his small expedition team was mobilized by the use of some canoes and horses. Crean's findings in north central Saskatchewan extending to the Churchill River, appeared promising, with detail of his report including extensive mapping and photographic imagery. He also recorded the soil types, present conditions of local crops grown by natives and fur traders as well as the general topography. His subsequent commission to lead another party into northeastern Alberta in 1909 saw him travel as far as Clearwater River in the north and to

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

to the west. His reports for both expeditions were published in 1910 but conflicting findings from further investigations by the department into the region concluded that it would not be suitable for cultivation by future settlers. Instead the land was set aside to form what is now Prince Albert National Park. Crean resigned from the department in 1913 and later served in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

first with the

12th Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

and then as a Lieutenant in the Canadian Militia with the

12th Manitoba Dragoons , colors = , march = "Colonel Bogey" , mascot = , battles = North-West RebellionSecond Boer WarFirst World WarSecond World War , notable_commanders ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crean, Frank 1875 births 1932 deaths Exploration of Canada Prince Albert National Park Engineers from Dublin (city) People educated at Belvedere College Canadian Militia officers 12th Manitoba Dragoons