Page "Old Wives Lake" Paragraph 3

Some early accounts describing the region state that the name " Old Wives Lake " was originally applied to both the lake that currently bears that name and to nearby Chaplin Lake.

In 1861, the British politicians Sir Frederick Johnstone and Henry Chaplin visited the area to hunt bison, antelope and elk for sport.

Explorer John Rae, who accompanied the expedition, named area lakes in honor of its members: The lake now called Old Wives Lake became Johnstone Lake and Chaplin Lake received the name by which it is still known.

Although the Canadian government officially adopted the designation " Johnstone Lake " in 1886 ; the First Nations peoples along with early ranchers and homesteaders in the area continued to refer to it as Old Wives Lake.

In response to a petition by area residents to restore its traditional name, the Canadian board on geographical names formally renamed it Old Wives Lake in 1953.