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The Jim Somerville collection follows his career as a surveyor in the Peace region, and his life as a homesteader. The first series of photographs is from Henry Selby's 1905 survey of the 20th base line west of the fifth meridian. The photographs show the environment of the area east of the Smoky River, the activities of his survey crew, and the life of a surveyor. There are also several photographs of buildings in Grouard and Stopping Places in the area. From 1909 to 1911 Jim Somerville worked as a packer in Walter McFarlane's survey crew. The photographs from this series show the environment of the land which was surveyed and the life of the surveyors at work. The regions which were covered stretch from Edmonton to Fort St. John, B.C. The last series of photographs show Jim's life as a homesteader in southern Alberta and the Peace Country.
An accrual of paper records include a Riley & McCormick cowboy equipment catalogue (1925); 6 small booklets recording activities and purchases (1912-1948), bank account (1926-1944), and a diary (1927); land tax documents(1920-1932),a notice of caveat (1949); gasoline ration coupons (1943), correspondence concerning the Buffalo Lakes Swine Improvement Association and a letter from J.B. Oliver; 4 personal cards, 2 pages of accounts with R.G. Maclean, assorted financial records (1913-1948), and a Buffalo Lakes newspaper article

The series consists of photographs taken in 1905 when Jim Somerville was a member of Henry Selby's survey crew. Some of the photographs are taken at the 20th base line camp as that was the starting point. The photographs show the environment of the area east of the Smoky River, the activities of his survey crew, and the life of a surveyor. There are also several photographs of buildings in Grouard and Stopping Places in the area.