This report contains an overview of the exploration and historical development of the Fort McMurray area, with emphasis on development of the oil sands industry in Alberta. This compilation was initiated as part of ongoing work by the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board(EUB), Alberta Geological Survey, on the geology of the Athabasca oil sands deposit. In doing this compilation a number of historical references and survey work were found in Edmonton at the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, Alberta Geological Survey Office. Other references to this work is scattered throughout the public domain, and has never been compiled as a comprehensive reference list related to the oil sands or to the geology of northeastern Alberta.