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2 became a province in 1905. During summers, his family, along with several others, would camp in the Beaver Hills around Cooking Lake–located only 20 miles SE of Edmonton but at that time a long day’s travel. Initially they camped in tents, but at some point after acquiring land in 1890 at what is today the hamlet of South Cooking Lake, Sheriff Robertson had a house built from spruce logs, which he named Spruce Lodge. In the early 1900’s Robertson owned a steam launch,“The Merrymaker” which transported passengers from the train station at North Cooking Lake to other resorts around the lake. The property was subdivided in 1917 and his children all built summer homes there. Today the Robertson family no longer own any of the properties, the last being sold in the 1990’s.

According to local newspapers the “Spruce Lodge” was first mentioned in 1896. However, the date of construction for the building is a bit murky. Research from various sources has suggested multiple possible dates for the construction of Spruce Lodge including 1893, 1896 and 1898 or based on the description of a photo of Robertson and family at Spruce Lodge from Provincial Archives of Alberta (Figure 2), the early 1880s.