We continue our trip from Beiseker west on highway 72.
Highway 72 connects up with highway 2 as we hang left and into the city of Airdrie.
Airdrie was first established in 1889 as a railway siding during the construction of the Edmonton an Calgary rail line.
The city was only used by the railroad as a stopping point for steam trains until 1901 when the first farmhouse and post office was built.
Airdie was incorporated as a village in 1909 with 250 residents, today Airdrie is home to around 74,000 residents, Airdrie was incorporated as a city in 1985.
Airdrie was named after Airdrie Scotland. There has been many discussions as to what the name Airdrie actually means but most accounts it means a level height or a high slope.
Interesting enough is that Airdrie is the highest city in Canada with an elevation of around 3600 ft. And you wouldn’t think so looking over the prairie.
Airdrie was built as a railway town and at the time most infrastructure was a result of the railway.
Today Airdrie is surrounded by rich farmland and a large agriculture business as well as oil and gas.
Airdrie offers full services to its residents as well as many shops for the avid buyer.
The Airdrie water tower is the most remarkable landmark and is a a historic site.
Airdrie is a young city with the average age of 32 years.
Next up travelling south is the the Hamlet of Balzac.
This is an interesting fact about Balzac is that it is home to one of the most largest malls in southern Alberta, the CrossIron Mills shopping centre, and it also has an Amazon distribution centre which employs between 750 to 1000 jobs. The fun fact of all of this is that Balzac is listed in Wikipedia as having a population of only 1, however most of Balzac has been absorbed by either Airdrie or Calgary so the true population would be around 40,000 people.
The community began around 1910 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and was named by the president of the railway, William Van Horne, after one of his favourite authors, Honore de Balzac, who was a French novelist.
The post office opened in 1912 under the name Beddington and was changed to Balzac in 1925
Also nearby Balzac is the oil refinery owned by Esso, once built by Husky Oil.
If you like history then nearby there is the archaeological site that contains an Aboriginal campsite which is about 1750 years old, dating back to the Late Prehistoric Period.
While in Balzac there is lots to do other than shopping at either of the two big malls, there is also a huge racetrack and casino and a couple of family play centres.
It wouldn’t take much to spend an entire day at Balzac.
Stay tuned for more adventure of the Saskatchewan Traveller…