‍Saratoga Park

Today, Saratoga Park is a secluded natural area along Seven Persons Creek. Historically, Saratoga Park was home to a vibrant Metis community.

Saratoga Park’s earliest inhabitants were First Nations people who recognized the abundance of the area’s resources. From 1907 through the First World War, the area was the City’s industrial centre, but by the early 1930s, commercial activity gave way to a Métis community that endured for 80 years. At its peak, as many as 20 families called Saratoga Park home. Henry Aaker Sr. moved to Saratoga Park at the age of 2 months, in 1930, and remained until 2010. His departure marked the end of the Métis settlement of Saratoga Park.

No other part of our city has been identified with a specific ethnic group for such a long time. Today Saratoga Park continues to convey the feeling of the Métis community that helped make Medicine Hat unique, although all the houses are gone. The strong cultural connections between former families of Saratoga Park and the physical setting speak to the area’s importance in the fabric of the Métis community.

This text is largely from the plaque at Saratoga Park, recognizing the area as a municipal historic resource, designated on November 16, 2020.