Women of the West::Mary Schaffer Warren

Mary Schäffer Warren (1861–1939) was an American-Canadian naturalist, illustrator, photographer, and writer. Schäffer collected botanical specimens and learned photography, collecting specimens for the University of Pennsylvania. In 1907 Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains was published, with text by Stewardson Brown and drawings and photographs by Schäffer. 1907 also saw Schäffer transition from using a folding camera and glass plate negatives for her work to using celluloid film.

Upon completion of her botanical work, Schäffer and Adams decided that they wanted to explore further into the mountains. They convinced, a mountain guide named William "Billy" Warren and fellow guide Sidney Unwin to provide the outfit and knowledge necessary to try finding "Chaba Imne," a lake in an unexplored mountain valley that they had heard of from the Stoney First Nations people. As recorded in Mary's book, Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies, a map drawn by Samson Beaver led to the first recorded visit to Jasper's Maligne Lake in 1908, which Mary describes as “an entire string of pearls.” Throughout her travels she continued to take photographs that she would hand-colour upon her return home and use to encourage others to travel in the Canadian Rockies.

​Schäffer's work was in part responsible for the incorporation of Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park. Had it not been for her, Maligne Lake may not have been preserved for the benefit of future generations. In 1912 Schäffer moved permanently to Banff, Alberta. In 1915 she married her longtime friend and mountain guide William "Billy" Warren, 20 years her junior.

In 1909, a mountain in Yoho National Park was named Mount Schaffer in her honor. In 2003, the University of Alberta named their newest student residence Schäffer Hall as a tribute to Schäffer Warren.

Janice Sanford Beck is the author of “No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren” (Rocky Mountain Books, 2001). Her latest works, “Life of the Trail 1” and “Life of the Trail 2”, are collaborations with Emerson Sanford that retrace the footsteps of early travelers (including David Thompson, Sir James Hector, and Mary Schäffer) in and around eastern Banff National Park and northern Yoho National Park.