Image above: Mrs. Agnes Forbes, Nurse Agnes Baird, and Dr. Annie Higbee lay the cornerstone for the Presbyterian hospital (Kathryn Prittie Hospital) in Grande Prairie. 1913. (SPRA 0032.08.08.1067)
When Dr. Annie Carveth Higbee arrived in the Grande Prairie area in 1912, healthcare in the South Peace was still in its earliest stages. Born in Ontario in 1864, Annie first trained as a nurse at Toronto General Hospital before earning her medical degree in 1893. After practicing medicine in California, she and her husband, Professor Charles Higbee, made the long journey over the Edson Trail to the Peace Country with their son, Jack, settling near Glen Leslie and Bezanson.
As the first woman doctor in the Peace Region and the only physician serving many homesteaders in the Glen Leslie and Bezanson areas, Dr. Higbee was constantly on call. She travelled day and night on horseback or by sleigh, often through severe weather, to reach patients across the region. Her work ranged from delivering babies and treating pneumonia to setting broken bones, pulling teeth, caring for frostbite, and responding to farming and logging accidents. It was not uncommon for her to spend an entire day caring for patients, only to return home and find another family waiting for her help. Many pioneers depended entirely on her medical knowledge and willingness to travel wherever she was needed.
Dr. Higbee also played an important role in the development of organized healthcare in Grande Prairie. In 1913, she joined nurse Agnes Baird and Mrs. Agnes Forbes in laying the cornerstone for the region’s first hospital, the Kathryn Prittie Hospital. She later opened her own medical office along Bear Creek, which allowed her to continue serving the growing community. Today, she remains one of the most respected figures in South Peace history, a true pioneer whose dedication helped bring healthcare to some of the region’s earliest settlers.
In recognition of her remarkable career, Dr. Higbee was honored in 1956 as Canada’s oldest woman medical graduate and the oldest surviving surgeon with the Toronto Western Hospital. Following her retirement, she settled in Burlington, Ontario, where she continued to embrace new experiences, including learning to drive at the age of 70! On October 11, 1964, Dr. Higbee celebrated her 100th birthday and received congratulations from across the country, including a special message from Queen Elizabeth II.
She passed away the following year at the age of 100, leaving behind a legacy that spanned more than seven decades of service to others. Her contributions to the Peace Region have not been forgotten. A park in Grande Prairie was ultimately named in her honour, recognizing her tireless dedication to the settlers she served. An inscription memorialized at the park reads as follows: “She will long be remembered by residents of the Peace River country as the woman who would rush by horseback or buggy to the side of a stricken settler, day or night.”
