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Remember When: Ponoka’s Fort Ostell

An early figure in the history of the settlement of Ponoka was Captain John Benjamin Ostell.
Black Press Media
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Remember When? One of the earliest figures in the earliest history of the settlement of Ponoka was Captain John Benjamin Ostell, a French Canadian, who was ordered to bring a battalion of soldiers to the Hudson’s Bay Trading Post at the Battle River Crossing on April 28, 1885. It was in this area where Highway 2A now crosses the river just south of town that Fort Ostell was quickly built and secured to protect against possible invasion during the Riel Rebellion. Photo courtesy of the Fort Ostell Museum

An early figure in the history of the settlement of Ponoka was Captain John Benjamin Ostell.