University of Calgary researchers are sifting a pasture near Millarville, looking for clues at the homestead of John Ware, a one-time slave who settled in Alberta after the U.S. Civil War
The earth doesn’t easily yield the remnants of an Alberta cowboy legend’s life, but University of Calgary researchers say they’ve made a noteworthy start.
Student and faculty archaeologists from the University of Calgary are sifting a pasture near Millarville in baking heat. They’ve discovered a few tantalizing tidbits of the presence of John Ware, a one-time slave who came north after the U.S. Civil War to establish himself as a renowned master of horses and livestock.
Since they began excavating the property southwest of Calgary, they’ve unearthed a hand-forged horseshoe, pre-1910 square nails and cow bone — clues to Ware’s homesteading on the spot from the late 1880s to 1902, when Ware moved his family to an area north of Brooks.
The father of five died in 1905 when his horse crushed him after tripping in a badger hole. Because he was born into slavery in Tennessee, Ware’s age isn’t certain but it’s believed he was in his 50s at the time.
“There’s a lot of longevity to his legend but we don’t actually know much about him,” said Dr. Lindsay Amundsen-Meyer, an associate professor of archaeology. “Most of what we know are histories written in the 1930s.”
The three-day research effort could lead to a treasure trove of artifacts, possibly in what could be the foundation of Ware’s ranch house, in an outhouse or trash heap, said Amundsen-Meyer.
To aid in that search, they’re employing ground-penetrating radar and drones.
“A feature would be really significant, like a house foundation. . . We’d be able to get more of a window into his daily life,” she said.
It’s believed Ware’s Millarville-area ranch house was removed by the 1920s, but the space that hosted it is an ideal setting for an excavation, said Amundsen-Meyer. “It’s been pastureland and it’s not been disturbed, so it’s an archaeological gold mine.”
A magnetometer’s readings, she said, suggests the presence of metal in at least one of the tracts of land eyed by the U of C team.
They’re likely to find less perishable items like glass or ceramic dinnerware, the latter which carry “product information or maker’s marks which allow us to date them,” said Amundsen-Meyer.
The archaeologist said it’s important to not only piece together the province’s history but to document the roles minorities played in it.
“We need more diversity in our history, we need to elevate it,” she said.
A woman who chronicled the cowboy’s life in the 2020 documentary film John Ware Reclaimed agreed.
Canadian author and filmmaker Cheryl Foggo, who was on the dig site Friday, said being there and seeing pieces of Ware’s life emerge was intensely moving.
“This place has a powerful emotional connection, a powerful draw and pull for people of African descent” said Foggo. “I am walking with the ghosts of John Ware and his family even now.”
Ware’s journey from slave to respected cattleman is an important story that needs to be told through archaeology being carried out near Calgary, said Foggo.
“People of African heritage . . . were people who wanted to be recognized as people who honoured this land,” she said.
Artifacts unearthed at the site will be taken to a U of C lab for analysis before heading to the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton.
