After a nice visit in Calgary it’s time to make our way home.
We take the number 1 highway to the east and the first community that we encounter is the City of Chestermere.
Chestermere is primarily a commuter city for Calgary with a population of around 23,000 people.
Prior to the twentieth century Chestermere only had a few people who lived in the area.
At the time the area was deemed to be worthless for agriculture land and the land was given to the Canadian Pacific Railway.
By the time the railway had set up shop more and more people began to live in the area.
In 1903 the government decided that water could be diverted from the Bow River and held in the area of Chestermere as the lands in the area suffered from extreme drought.
There was a dam built so that the area known as Chestermere Lake could be used for irrigation and improve the quality of the crops.
The area was owned by the CPR until the mid 1940’s when the Western Irrigation District took over.
There was many who began building properties around the lake and into cabins and wasn’t until the mid 1970’s that you could own the property instead of lease.
The name Chestermere as it was told comes from the old english of “Mere” meaning lake and Lord Chester from England.
It wasn’t until about 1975 that area became know as Chestermere Lake and a great recreation area for the City of Calgary.
By 1992 Chestermere’s population was still only about a 1000 people and by the end of the ninety’s Chestermere had swelled into city status as one of Alberta’s fastest growing cities.
Next up down the road we come to the Town of Strathmore.
Strathmore began as a hamlet around the year 1883 when the Canadian Pacific Railway was making it’s way through the area.
Strathmore was named after Claude Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore and has a today’s population of 14,000 people.
Strathmore is mainly an agriculture town but offers the town residents with the benefits of having most city services.
Mostly people from the USA and the old country in Scotland came to Strathmore to settle.
By the early 1900’s there was irrigation water and the area developed what was to become a famous destination farm designed to act as a model farm for many settlers and an instruction tool.
The Canadian Pacific Railway grew vegetables and exotic flowers and was a destination point for many travelling to the Rockies.
It wasn’t until the early 1980’s that the last railroad spike was removed, but the CPR had left a legacy of the irrigation system that continues to operate today.
Along with agriculture Strathmore is getting more into the oil and gas business.
Strathmore also has the benefits of the nearby Bow River for many recreational activities that happen throughout the year.
Stay tuned for more adventures of the Saskatchewan Traveller…
September 12, 2024
Continuing our trip to Medicine Hat we turn left on Alberta highway 41 south. An interesting fact that right on . . .