John Ware Memorial Cairn

Ware family at dedication of John Ware monument, Millarville, Alberta, May 30, 1970. L-R: Nettie Ware; Robert Ware; Mildred Ware; Grant MacEwan; Arthur Ware. Source: Glenbow Archives, PA-4011-15. Used with permission.

Introduction

John Ware (d. 1905) was an African American pioneer and cowboy instrumental in establishing Alberta’s ranching industry in the late nineteenth century. His name has reached almost mythic standards in provincial history, leading to the memorialization of Ware in a number of places by different parties. The motivations behind commemorative efforts surrounding Ware are as varied as the ways in which people chose to remember him. This essay will focus on the commemoration of Ware and his family by the Millarville community in the form of the Ware Memorial Cairn before examining how the remembrance of Ware has transformed over time.

Click the marker above for pictures and driving directions to the John Ware Memorial Cairn.

The John Ware Memorial Cairn (Millarville)

The Ware Memorial Cairn is easy to miss. Half-hidden by a patch of trees, the cairn is an upright slab of black rock with white veins, approximately 5 feet in height. Mounted on it is a tablet reading ‘In memory of John Ware who settled at this location in 1887,’ with the symbol of his three-nines (999) brand represented underneath. The area surrounding the cairn is bare, with a wire fence separating the site from the road. While the cairn is easily spotted from the road, it is impossible to interact or engage with the monument without trespassing on private property.

Further along, there is a sign proclaiming the area as a historic site with the text, “John Ware, a former Negro slave from Texas, came to the Kew district in 1887. He built his home where Sheep Creek and Ware Creek joined. John was a drover on the Quorn Ranch until his family moved to the Red River area near Duchess.” The language used to describe Ware’s racial heritage on the sign reveals its age, but marks the site of Ware’s first ranch in Millarville.

John Ware: A Brief Biography

Above: John Ware, rancher, ca. 1902-1903. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-101-37. Used with permission.

Records of John Ware's date and place of birth are non-existent. Most scholars agree he was born into slavery around 1845 and made his way northwest at the age of twenty.[1] His passion for horses and the ranch life led him to Texas, where, in 1870, he began working on a ranch close to Fort Worth. Ware later moved to Idaho, Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin, and the Dakota Territory, where he gained experience in taking care of large herds and made a name for himself as a skilled cowboy.

From the 1870s to 1880s, Ware worked under Tom Lynch and Bill Moodie. Responsible for herding cattle to Alberta, he was later hired by Moodie and Stinson in 1892 to work at the Bar U Ranch in Southern Alberta and asked to stay on as a full-time rancher helping maintain and care for the large herds of cattle.

In 1891, Ware met Mildred Lewis and in 1892 they married in Calgary. The couple settled near Sheep Creek, just south of Calgary, where Ware purchased his own ranch in order to oversee his own cattle herd and registered his famous three nines (999) brand. Mildred and John had several children, including one who dedicated much of her life to the remembrance of her father.[2] Ware eventually bought a ranch near Red River and moved his family to the Duchess area. However, tragedy struck shortly after with the death of Mildred in 1905 and John's death a few months later.

Ware’s death was deeply felt in Alberta, with newspapers reporting that his funeral was one of the most widely attended in Calgary up to that point.[3] At the funeral oration at the Baptist Church, the minister said, “John Ware was a man with beautiful skin […] To know John Ware was to know a gentleman […] He leaves me with the thought that black is a beautiful color – one the Creator must have held in particularly high favor because He gave it to his most cheerful people. Make no mistakes about it, black can be beautiful.”[4] Ware was buried in Union Cemetery in Calgary.

Above: John and Nettie Ware ranch at Millarville (Kew), Alberta, ca. 1896: Source: Glenbow Archives, NA 266-1. Used with permission.

From the Three-Nines to the Ware Memorial Cairn

Ware spent over a decade in the Millarville area. Following his employment at Bar U Ranch and Quorn Ranch, he purchased his own homestead on the banks of the Sheep River in 1887.[5] After his marriage to Mildred Lewis, the couple settled there until 1900, and the ranch was the place where three of their children were born.[6] Ware was a well-respected figure in the community for his ranching expertise, skill with horses, and his friendly personality. His move to the Brooks area was motivated by a desire to avoid competition over grazing with newly arriving settlers. Ware’s Sheep River property was acquired by his neighbour, John Fisher, and remains in the hands of the Fisher family.[7]

Although his involvement in the community spanned a little over a decade, the decision made by Millarville residents to erect a monument in his name over sixty years after his death speaks to how highly he was regarded and how deeply his legacy was embedded into the region’s history and identity.

Above: A. O. Wheeler, A preliminary topographical map of a portion of the Foothills Region from photographic and micrometer surveys by Division B, Canadian Irrigation Surveys, 1895-6 [map]. Ottawa: Department of the Interior, 1896. ca. 1:190,080. "Peel's Prairie Provinces." University of Alberta. http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/maps/M000014.html.

The Millarville Community and Remembering John Ware

The impetus for the cairn came in the 1960s. It was a community organized and funded initiative spearheaded by the ‘oldtimers’ of the of the Millarville (or as they preferred, Kew).[8] Part of the inspiration for the cairn was also to honor Nettie Ware, the daughter of John, who dedicated years to the formation and commemoration of her father’s memory. Nettie remained an active and beloved figure of the Millarville community through her search for stories about her father, though she resided in Vulcan, Alberta, with her sister at the time.[9]

The Fisher family, who later owned the land Ware settled, participated heavily in the commemoration efforts. Peter Fisher helped erect the cairn and Jane Fisher was a part of the memorial committee which organized the dedication ceremony for the monument. In addition, the cairn was located on Fisher private property, and the family’s willingness to allow—what was at the time—a public monument to be housed on their land was an indication of their respect for and commitment to memorializing John Ware.

Because a road was developed through the site of Ware’s original cabin in the 1960s, the community decided to erect the monument across the road.[10] The cairn, “[…] a two-ton slab of ‘rundle rock’ quarried at Pigeon Mountain by the Thunderbird Quarries, [was] moved by truck to the location where it was dropped in a hole 3 or 4 feet […].”[11] The rock used for the cairn is most commonly used for flooring, and committee members noted that “[…] when [the rock] cuts properly it is in large flat sheets and is worth about $100 a ton, but the piece for the cairn was unsuitable for flat cuts.”[12] The rough cost for the rock was therefore under $200.

The installation of the cairn was a community effort as well; Peter Fisher and Michael Rodgers helped with trucking the cairn to the site, and a local road grader along with several other Millarville residents aided with its final installation.

The cairn was officially placed in 1969, though the dedication ceremony and the mounting of a tablet detailing its significance did not take place until 1970. Discussions took place in 1969 about what text to include on the monument, and Nettie was eventually consulted about what was appropriate to mention.[13] With her approval, the community decided on the words ‘In memory of John Ware who settled at this location in 1887.’

Following the erection of the of the monument, the Millarville community began making plans to establish picnic grounds near the cairn. Donations for this project were solicited from interested persons and organizations.[14] The official opening for the picnic site also served as a dedication for the memorial cairn. Held on May 30, 1970, it was organized by the memorial committee comprised of Elizabeth Rummel, Jean Blakley, Jane Fisher, Kathleen Tosh, and Katherine Kendall.[15]

Nettie and Mildred Ware from Vulcan, Arthur Ware of Vancouver, and Bob Ware of Calgary were invited to the dedication, along with members of the Old Timers’ Associations and other members of the community. In total, 150 people were in attendance, and their names were recorded in a guestbook presented to the Wares.[16] Lieutenant Governor Grant MacEwan was present with his family and gave the dedication address as a long-time friend of the Ware family and the author of John Ware’s Cow Country, a biography of Ware published in 1960. MacEwan also planted a tree in memory of John Ware at this time.[17]

Above: Unveiling of memorial cairn at site of original homestead of John Ware, Millarville area, Alberta, May 30, 1970. Grant MacEwan with memorial committee, L-R: Elizabeth Rummel; Jean Blakley; Jane Fisher; Kathleen Tosh; Katherine Kendall. Source: Glenbow Archives, NA-2566-2. Used with permission.

In subsequent years, the cairn and picnic site served as a gathering place for community members with a connection to John Ware. The old guard of the Millarville and Priddis region met annually at the site and shared stories about Ware for the benefit of his daughter Nettie, who used the information she learned about her father to further her personal commemorative efforts on his behalf.[18] The picnic was hosted by the Fishers, and for as long as these annual gatherings took place, Nettie notably did not miss a single one.[19]

These gatherings likely continued until Nettie and the last of the oldtimers passed away. There is no evidence to indicate that the meetings took place after 1989, the year Nettie died. For the community, honoring John Ware was tied to the regard they held for his daughter. The loss of her and others with a personal connection to Ware eroded some of the importance of the site. The cairn ceased to function as a place of gathering and remembrance once those with ties to Ware were gone.

Above: John Ware Memorial Cairn, Millarville, Alberta. Source: Hannah Tascona. Used with permission.

With its original significance either faded or forgotten, the cairn has transformed to suit the needs of the Millarville community. Residents are able to connect the cairn with John Ware, but it is not viewed or used as a memorial.

Locals state that it is a reference point in giving directions. None of the residents we encountered utilize the site as the public space it was intended to be; no traces of the picnic site established in 1970 remain and the fences surrounding the cairn read ‘No Trespassing.’ The lack of any litter or footsteps in the snow present at the cairn suggests that it does not have a place in the community as a gathering spot of any kind.

The landscape around the monument has also transformed from the time of its installation. Locals mention that a 2006 flood washed out and changed the landscape. Some people recalled that around this time, the tablet on the cairn fell off but was reinstalled prior to 2018. While an awareness that the site should be preserved remains—as suggested by the re-installation of the tablet—in some ways, the monument as a memorial has become a community relic of times past, like the sign of the historic site with its antiquated racial language.

However, the residents Millarville have been able to find a new use for the cairn, removed as it might be from the original intentions of those who erected it. Though it is no longer a gathering place for oldtimers as it once was, or a quaint picnic site as the community envisioned, it does have a place in the community landscape as a way-finding marker or reference point.

Nettie Ware and the Path to Commemoration

The commemoration of John Ware was largely shaped by his eldest child, Jeanette ‘Nettie’ Ware, along with Nettie’s long-time friend Mary Mjolness. Nettie worked tirelessly over the course of her life to cement her father’s place in the province’s memory by ensuring his contributions to early Alberta settler history were remembered and documented. She accomplished her goal through various ways, such as donating personal artefacts to local museums, challenging racist names and stereotypes, and participating in various pioneer associations where she could champion her cause.

Nettie was born in Calgary on March 9, 1893. Shortly after her birth, her parents moved to the ranch outside of Kew, now known as Millarville. Following the death of her parents in 1905, she and her siblings were raised by her maternal grandparents in Calgary. Nettie and her sister left Calgary and lived most of their lives in Vulcan, Alberta.

In Vulcan, she began to preserve and commemorate her father’s legacy as a successful Alberta rancher. She held leadership positions in organizations such as president of the High River and District Pioneers and Old Timers Association. Various newspaper clippings during and after her lifetime celebrated her as a “true daughter of Alberta” for her involvement and efforts in preserving memories of pioneers across southern Alberta.[20]

The respect she garnered during her lifetime led to an increased interest in John Ware and a willingness of others such as Mary Mjolness to aid in his commemoration, as many memorialization endeavours surrounding Nettie’s father were in effect a way to honor her, the Millarville cairn included.

Mjolness donated a considerable amount of archival material to the Glenbow Archives, through which Mjolness’ efforts to contribute to Ware’s commemoration on behalf of her friend can be seen. Mjolness was quite active in the John Ware Foundation throughout the 1980s, and she was responsible for organizing various events and donating substantial funds. At this point, Nettie was in her late 80s and early 90s, and was unable to be as active as she once was. Mjolness kept records, photographs and tracked news articles that discussed the Ware family for Nettie’s benefit. These sources report on events and lifetime achievements, such as Nettie donating her parents’ marriage certificate to the museum in Brooks.[21]

Above: Nettie Ware (Left), and Mary Mjolness (right) at unveiling of commissioned family portrait. No date. Source: Glenbow Archives, John Ware Fonds, NA-2566-2. Used with permission.

Over the course of her life, Nettie fought against the racism embedded in her father’s legacy. Ware was frequently referred to as “Nigger John” during his lifetime, a name which has followed him into the present.[22] During the twentieth century, many newspaper articles used derogatory language to refer to him while discussing his impact on the province. Nettie continuously disavowed the use of racially insensitive labels and worked to change them when possible. For example, one of three geographical locations named after Ware made use of the derogatory term until 1970 when it was rescinded and changed to “John Ware Ridge,” largely because Nettie's protest.

While most of the language used to refer to Ware has been updated, there are some instances, such as the sign near the Millarville cairn, where outdated language persists. That site is in the minority, however, and most default to respectful language when discussing Ware’s African American heritage.

The Legacy of John Ware

Above: Picture and logo of John Ware School in Calgary, Alberta. Source: John Ware School Homepage, http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b603/default.htm. Public domain.

Other efforts to commemorate John Ware emerged over the years. Many of these memorialization activities were organized by people with no direct connection to Ware. Although various members of the Ware family were either consulted or present for the opening ceremonies of these initiatives, they were not directly involved.

Therefore, these activities take on an impersonal role compared to the Millarville cairn. Ware was no longer worthy of remembrance because of his reputation or role in the community. Instead, he was seen as worthy of commemoration because he was a symbolic figure in Alberta’s history, not only as a skilled cowboy but also as a figure of racial tolerance and diversity. Ware came to what later became Canada and succeeded. As a nation, Canada emphasizes its dedication to multiculturalism, and Ware’s achievements in the late nineteenth century fit the narrative the province and nation were attempting to construct: of Canada as a tolerant and diverse country.

This idea is most explicitly stated in the naming of John Ware School. In a letter to Nettie Ware, the Calgary Public School Board asked for her consent to name the school after Ware, “[…] in recognition of [his] contribution in settling this part of the West, and to perpetuate [his] name for the benefit of future generations.”[23] Nettie gave them permission, and in October 28, 1968, the opening of John Ware Junior High School took place with Nettie and Robert Ware in attendance for the ceremony. Amateur historian and Lieutenant Governer of Alberta Grant MacEwan was present as well.

At the ceremony, M.P. Patrick Mahoney stated that the decision to name the school after Ware came from a committee, who viewed it as “[…] a testimony to our growing sense of history and recognition of the cultural, ethnic, and, indeed, racial mosaic upon which modern Canadian society is founded.”[24] Ware’s memory, in this case, served a specific purpose beyond simple remembrance and memorialization. It was evidence of the multicultural narrative of tolerance officials wanted to construct for Alberta.

In recent years, the story of Ware and his life has continued to capture the imaginations of historians and the public alike, but also of other Albertans of African descent looking for representation in the past. His story and legacy are instrumental in helping form a sense of identity and belonging for these Albertans, who can look back at him and find themselves represented in the foundations of the province’s important industries.

Calgary author Cheryl Foggo’s play, John Ware: Reimagined, demonstrates this idea. First performed in 2014, reviews of the play state that “Foggo tells the pioneer story through the lens of Joni (Kirsten Alter), a 1960s young black girl growing up in Calgary’s mainly white culture. Although her world is safe and secure, she searches for black people with the same hair and skin colour, people who share similar experiences. But they are sparse until she hears of John Ware.”[25]

This story is modelled on her own experiences. Foggo recalls how she did not have a single positive representation of black people growing up until she heard of Ware, and it was “[…] an incredibly healing situation for [Foggo.] It changed my perspective on our place in this part of the world.”[26]

Foggo will also be working with the National Film Board to create a documentary on John Ware entitled John Ware: Reclaimed. Unlike the play, the documentary will be a more factual look at the man behind the myth.

Cheryl Foggo’s lifelong fascination with John Ware and desire to bring more recognition of his story outside Alberta reflects how the commemoration of Ware has evolved and changed over the decades. What began as a daughter’s quest to remember her father turned into a communities’ attempts to honor a respected figure. From there, other groups sought to commemorate Ware as an example of diversity in Alberta’s distant past, remembering him for what he symbolizes rather than what he meant to them personally. More recently, for Albertans of African descent seeking representation of their own people in history, Ware reminds them that they, too, have a place in Alberta.

Conclusion

The site of the memorial cairn at Millarville was intended to be a public space of memorial to honor the esteemed rancher, John Ware. While the original meaning of the site was not wholly lost over time, the current residents of Millarville transformed its role and purpose in the community to suit their need of a fixed point of reference in the area. Similarly, the memory of John Ware was transformed to suit the needs of those who commemorated him. The personal connection which characterized the Millarville monument or Nettie and Mjolness’ commemorative activities is gone, but this does not mean that the memory of John Ware is less important. Nettie Ware was ultimately successful in her goal to cement her father’s legacy in Alberta’s history.

Contributors: Tanya Balasundaram, Michael Peace, and Hannah Tascona

References

[1] Bill Gallaher, High rider (Victoria, British Columbia: TouchWood Editions, 2015), 14.

[2] Ian Hundey, John Ware (Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006), 47.

[3] “John Ware and His Legacy,” n.d., John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 2, call number M-9677-6.

[4] Ibid.

[5] “Picnic Site To Commemorate John Ware,” 1970, John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 2, call number M-9677-13.

[6] “Dedication to John Ware At Millarville,” June 1970, John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 2, call number M-9677-13.

[7] [John Ware Historical Notes], 8 September 1969, John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 2, call number M-9677-12.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Ibid.

[13] Ibid.

[14] “Picnic Site To Commemorate John Ware,” 1970.

[15] Unveiling of memorial cairn at site of original homestead of John Ware, Millarville area, Alberta, 30 May 1970, John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 8, call number NA-2566-(1-2), http://www.glenbow.org/collections/archives.

[16] “Dedication to John Ware At Millarville,” June 1970.

[17] Ibid.

[18] [Historical Notes], n.d., John Ware Lewis family fonds, Glenbow Archives, series 2, call number M-9677-10.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Nettie Ware: True daughter of Alberta, n.d., Mary Mjolness fonds, Glenbow Archives, call number M-8800.

[21] “Nettie Ware visits museum on Sunday,” The Brooks Bulletin, n.d., Mary Mjolness fonds, Glenbow Archives, call number M-8800.

[22] Natural Resources Canada, John Ware Ridge (Formerly Nigger John Ridge), October 6, 2016, http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/IAAQN.

[23] Calgary Public School Board to Jeanette Ware, 17 March 1967, Mary Mjolsness fonds, Glenbow Archives, call number M-8800.

[24] The Official Opening of John Ware Junior High School, 28 October 1968, Mary Mjolsness fonds, Glenbow Archives, call number M-8800.

[25] Anna Borowiecki, “John Ware Reimagined is a tale of a prairie champion,” St. Albert Gazette, November 13, 2017, accessed February 14, 2018, https://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/john-ware-reimagined-tale-prairie-champion-20171113.

[26] Kelley Cryderman, “Seeking truth in the legends of John Ware,” The Globe and Mail, December 29, 2017, accessed February 14, 2018, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/john-ware-alberta-black-cowboy/article37463119/.

For Further Reading

Media related to John Ware:

[Podcast] Dempster, Allison. "From the life of a slave to a living legend: How John Ware left his indelible mark on Alberta." CBC, July 22, 2017. Last modified July 22, 2017. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/wayward-west-episode-4-john-ware-1.4216136.

[Video] Historica Canada. “The Canadians: John Ware.” YouTube video, 7:37. Posted March 5, 2015. https://youtu.be/OJMpj_QTGUg.

Books about John Ware:

Gallaher, Bill. High rider. Victoria, British Columbia: TouchWood Editions, 2015.

Hundey, Ian. John Ware. Markham, Ont.: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2006.

MacEwan, Grant. John Ware's Cow Country. Vancouver: Greystone Books, 1973.

Online articles about John Ware:

Bonikowsky, Laura Neilson. "John Ware." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Last modified March 4, 2016. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-ware/.

Peters, Hammerson. "Famous Black Canadians: 5/10: John Ware." Mysteries of Canada. Accessed April 4, 2018. https://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/alberta/famous-black-canadians-5-10-john-ware/.

Books about Millarville:

Millarville, Kew, Priddis and Bragg Creek Historical Society. Our foothills. Calgary: Millarville, Kew, Priddis and Bragg Creek Historical Society, 1975.

Articles about the legacy of John Ware:

Cryderman, Kelley. “Seeking truth in the legends of John Ware.” The Globe and Mail, December 29, 2017. Accessed February 14, 2018. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/alberta/john-ware-alberta-black-cowboy/article37463119/.

Kelland, Ron. “Naming and Renaming: The Place Names of John Ware.” RETROactive. Last modified February 17, 2016. https://albertashistoricplaces.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/naming-and-renaming-the-place-names-of-john-ware/.

McNamee, Maureen. "In Focus: Cheryl Foggo’s John Ware." Alberta Views. Last modified December 1, 2017. https://albertaviews.ca/focus-cheryl-foggos-john-ware/.

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